Staircase Confusion
by Elle D'Elajoie
Summary: Kurt's first semester at NYADA - AU with canon elements. [Kadam Pairing - Not Blaine or Klaine friendly.]
1. Chapter 1

Kurt got out of his dad's SUV at the airport and went around the back to grab his suitcase and satchel. He pulled his dad into a hug and then walked inside. He stood in this line and that line and went through security. He grabbed a coffee and sat down to think about what had happened in the last few days. He looked down at his finger.

Suddenly he was hit with reality like a gust of wind. Getting back together with Blaine and getting engaged when he was in love with Adam? Had he lost his mind entirely? What was in the water in Lima? Why had sung that song to Blaine? Yes, he wanted Blaine back in his life, but as a friend. Not as a boyfriend. He already had a boyfriend.

He couldn't go through with it. He knew it would break Blaine's heart, but the more he thought about he realized that the ring on his finger was like a collar around his neck. Blaine didn't buy a matching one for himself. Wouldn't it have made more sense for Blaine to wear one since he was the one that cheated the first time? Didn't he need more of a reminder to be faithful than Kurt did? He had officially lost it in Lima. Too much Ambien and Xanax maybe? Can that make a person crazy enough to agree to date and get engaged to their cheating ex?

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The instant he boarded the plane, he pulled out his phone and texted Adam.

To Adam: Please meet me at JFK tonight. My flight gets in at 8:50. I really need to see you.

From Adam: Is something wrong. Is your dad okay?

To Adam: My dad's fine, but I really need to see you. I have to turn my phone off now. Can you meet me?

From Adam: I'll be there.

To Adam: See you soon.

Kurt turned his phone off. After take off, he asked the stewardess if she had any envelopes or ziplock bags or anything he could store something small in. She looked at him kind of oddly, but came back a few minutes later with a ziplock bag. He thanked her. He slipped the ring off of his finger, put it in the ziplock bag and slid the bag into the interior pocket of his satchel and got his notebook out. He spent the flight to New York composing a letter to send to Blaine with the ring.

Kurt collected his suitcase and texted Adam his specific location. Within a few minutes Adam arrived. By the time he got there, Kurt had already broken down in tears. Adam grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

"Oh, Kurt. What's wrong, love?"

Kurt couldn't manage to get anything out other than sobs. Adam grabbed his suitcase and pulled it to the outside area without letting go of Kurt and called for a cab. He knew that he couldn't put Kurt through a bus ride with as upset as he was. The cab pulled up, Adam put Kurt's luggage in and then eased Kurt into the backseat, sliding in next to him and gave the taxi driver the address to the loft.

Kurt just leaned on Adam and continued to cry. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"What are you sorry for, love?"

Hearing Adam call him "love" just made him cry all the harder. Adam just held him as close as possible during the taxi ride. When the car stopped, Adam got out and gently helped Kurt out. Adam grabbed Kurt's luggage and ushered him into the building.

Kurt got his keys out and opened the loft door. Fortunately, Santana and Rachel wouldn't be coming back for two more days. Kurt made his way to his bed and just fell face down while continuing to cry. Adam rubbed circles on his back and then said, "I'm going to make you some tea, sweetheart." He went out to the kitchen to boil some water. He set the cups to steep a bit and went to check on Kurt and found that he was still crying.

"Come on, love. You've got to tell me what's gotten you so upset." Kurt sat up and wiped his eyes on the handkerchief that Adam offered him.

"I can't go back to Lima ever again."

"What? Why not?" Adam looked really confused.

"I just can't. Something there makes me insane. Can a place make someone crazy? Maybe it was taking the Ambien and Xanax together?" Kurt rambled.

"I'm not following, love."

"I felt like I was in some kind of dream or alternate reality or something the last few days. And when I got to the airport, it was like my mind cleared and I couldn't believe what I had done. I had packed up my Xanax in the suitcase and forgotten to pull one out for the flight. I drank a cup of coffee and my mind began to clear. I'm guessing the Xanax was wearing off. Then, I was in shock. I couldn't believe what I had done. I'm so sorry."

"Kurt, I love you sweetheart, but you aren't make any sense."

"I know. I know. But I'm afraid to tell you what I did." Kurt broke down sobbing again.

Adam moved to go bring the cups of tea to the bedroom. He handed a cup to Kurt. "Here, love, drink the tea. Maybe you'll feel better."

"Thank you, but I don't think anything will make me feel better. But I'm never taking another Ambien or Xanax on the same day or maybe ever, even if I can't prove that's what made me crazy."

"Can you please explain to me what happened? I'm quite concerned."

"It was like I had gone back in time. I was at McKinley during the week and yesterday and then at Dalton today. And there was a marching band and four show choirs. And a picnic and an engagement ring and rose petals falling from the ceiling." Kurt began crying again.

"I'm still not following, sweetheart. What do you mean by engagement ring? Who got engaged?"

"I did," Kurt sobbed.

"Kurt, sweetheart, this doesn't make any sense."

"I know, but that doesn't change the fact that it's true. Blaine asked me to marry him and I said 'yes'. He put the ring on my finger and kissed me in front of like 100 people at Dalton earlier this afternoon."

Adam looked stunned. "But love, there's no ring on your finger. This isn't making any sense. You told me that you were over Blaine ages ago. You told me that you loved me."

"And I do. I love you so much. I don't love him, not at all. I can't figure out why I did this. It's like one of those weird, psycho movies where the plot keeps changing and the people's timelines keep getting messed up and they wake up and things that happened didn't and things that didn't happen did."

Adam shifted to slide back and lean against the headboard.

"Everyone was there. My dad, Rachel, Santana, Mercedes, all of the New Directions, the Warblers, Vocal Adrenaline and the deaf choir. Why would our opponents be there singing together with rose petals falling?"

"I'm still back at you being engaged. You're not wearing a ring."

"I took it off on the plane. I put it in a bag and put it in my satchel. I didn't want it on me. I don't want to marry him. I don't love him." Kurt sobbed more. "I love you, Adam."

"And, I, you, but I'm still so very confused." Adam said.

"I wrote him a letter on the plane. I'm going to the post office in the morning and sending the ring back," Kurt paused then started again. "I have to disappear for a while, Adam. I can't deal with Santana and Rachel when they get back Sunday. What am I going to do? What have I done?"

"Try to calm down, sweetheart."

"Why are you even being nice to me?"

"You have clearly had some sort of traumatic time the past few days. You didn't seem to be at all in your right mind. I think maybe we should see if we can get an appointment for you somewhere to make sure there's no long term problems."

"Wait, you mean you're not going to break up with me after I agreed to marry my ex?"

"Do you want me to break up with you?"

"No, God, no. I want to be with you. I love you. I'm so sorry. I don't understand what happened in Lima."

"Well, I can't say that I understand either, but it's clear to me that you didn't make sane or logical decisions while you were there. I really think a doctor is a good idea."

"I'll think about it. Will you stay here with me tonight? I just don't think I can be alone. I feel like I'm 'me' again, but I keep having flashbacks of the last few days and it's disorienting."

"Yes, love. Of course, I'll stay here. Do you want to try to sleep now?"

"Yeah. I really do. I'll get you some pajamas." Kurt moved to his dresser and got out two pairs of sleep pants. "I'm going to go shower if you don't mind. Will you sit in the bathroom with me or shower with me?"

"Well, given those two options, I think I'm definitely in need of a shower," he winked. They moved to the bathroom, showered quickly, and dressed in the sleep pants. Kurt carried their clothes to his bedroom and Adam double-checked the lock on the door and turned out all the lights, except a small one in the living room that would light the loft up just enough for Kurt to realize that he was in NY should he wake up during the night.

Adam climbed into bed and pulled Kurt up close to him. Kurt snuggled against him and fell asleep pretty quickly. Adam had noticed that Kurt never seemed to have trouble sleeping when they shared a bed. Adam, however, was finding sleep elusive. Thoughts of what on earth could cause his beloved to agree to even interact with his ex again, much less get engaged to him. Nothing came to mind and the whole situation seemed so surreal. He eventually fell asleep holding Kurt close.

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The next morning at 7:00, Kurt awoke with a start, but then looked around and realized that he was in his bed, in NY, in Adam's arms. He relaxed and calmed down, but not before accidentally waking Adam.

"Good morning, love. Everything okay? You startled."

"Everything's perfect. I'm here. You're here."

Adam smiled. "Are you hungry? Do you want me to make us some breakfast or do you want to sleep a while longer?"

"Do you really think it might have been somehow drug-induced? Do things like that happen in real life? This isn't some kind of sci fi movie."

"Well, honestly I have no idea, but that's why I think we should really take you to a doctor. We could just start by talking to the staff psychologist at NYADA. Maybe she can refer you to someone, if she thinks you need it."

"Okay. I could be okay with that as long as she has to keep everything confidential. The last thing I need is more rumors. I'm sure that someone video recorded that proposal. At least the ending where I said 'yes.'" Kurt started to cry again.

"Now, love, don't start to cry again. Let's work on figuring out how to make sure nothing crazy like this ever happens to you again. Now, that I'm thinking about it. We should go to the hospital today, like right now. If there was something in your system, we should go find out what it was. That will be much more helpful than trying to guess. I should have thought of that last night. Get up, get dressed. I'm going to call the closest hospital and ask where I should take you."

Adam looked up the hospital's number and got dressed as quickly as he could while holding the phone. Kurt got dressed as well. As soon as Adam hung up, he grabbed Kurt's hand and pulled him toward the door.

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In no time, they were in a cab on the way to a clinic that opened at 8:00am that did drug screening for employers. They waited their turn, then explained to the doctor briefly why they were there and Kurt was taken back to the lab to have his blood drawn and to provide urine for a drug screening. Kurt returned to the room after he had completed the process.

He and Adam spoke while waiting for the doctor to return. "I'm really glad you thought of this. I'm certain that I just took my own prescriptions, but it's better to be certain and at least this way, we'll be able to tell the psychologist the results," Kurt said.

The doctor came back in. "Well, Kurt, the results will come back in a couple of days if they're negative. But of course, since you've been on prescription drugs, we know those will be picked up in the panels. So, it will be about 5 days before we get the results back. Make sure you leave a number with the nurse up front where we can contact you. I'm sorry to hear of your situation. I hope that the results are helpful somehow." And the doctor left.

Kurt stopped by the desk and left his number as requested. They left the clinic and decided to find the closest coffee shop and get some breakfast. While they were eating, Kurt brought up going to the post office again.

"You know what, I think we should go pay the student legal aid office a visit. Let's wait to send the ring back until we talk to someone," Adam suggested. They left the coffee shop and went to NYADA.

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Kurt followed Adam into the administrative building and then down a hall he had never been in. They opened the office door and spoke with the receptionist. Fortunately, there was an immediate opening due to a cancellation. They were ushered into the lawyer's office.

"Gentlemen, please have a seat. I'm Mr. Langston."

Kurt spoke up. "I'm Kurt Hummel and this is Adam Crawford." They all shook hands.

"How can I help you? Do you have a contract that you need me to help you go through?"

"No, this is actually a personal issue. Everything I say in here is confidential, right?"

"Yes, of course."

"I need to return an engagement ring and make it clear to the person that I do not want to be contacted in the future. I have a letter that I've written to him with me."

"Okay. I have to say this is one of the more unusual requests that I've had. Is there a reason that your school life would be affected? I generally provide school- or career-related services."

"I'm pretty certain that he will stop at nothing to get to me and make a nuisance of himself. He arranged a proposal with four rival show choirs in a school he doesn't attend anymore. 'Spectacle' should be his middle name."

"I see. I'd suggest that we type up a simple Cease and Desist letter. It will be kept in your file for future purposes of proving that you did write the letter. After the letter is done, you can take it down to the post office and send it, along with the ring, in the most secure way possible. Since I normally just deal with letters, not expensive jewelry, please speak to someone at the post office to determine the best mailing option. Now, can I see the letter you had already composed? I need to get an idea of what you are hoping to achieve."

"Here's the letter," he said handing it over. "What I want to achieve is a life without my ex in it. I want him to not call me, not email me, not text me, not contact me through any social media site, not to visit me in my home or to bother me at school or my jobs. Basically, I just want him to leave me alone, period."

"And you're certain a simple verbal request will not suffice?"

"I'm certain. He is unfamiliar with the term 'no' when it comes to getting what he wants."

"I see. Give me a few minutes and I'll type something up. You can look it over and make sure it covers everything. Then, I'll sign it and you'll sign it. I'll keep a copy in your file and I'll print two for you. One is to send and one is to keep on your person in case you ever need proof that you've asked him to leave you alone."

"Thank you."

About 10 minutes later, the letter was written, a few changes made, then signed. The two copies were in separate envelopes, and Kurt place them into satchel. He was ready to go to the post office. "Thank you so much for your help."

"That's what we're here for." The man shook hands with Adam and Kurt on their way out.

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Kurt and Adam left and headed out of the building. "Well, I guess I can see why our tuition is so high. Until you told me, I wasn't aware that we had a staff psychologist or a legal aid office that we could access at no charge."

"I'm glad I could be of help. I've known other students that have used the services."

They made their way to the post office and discussed the different options with one of the workers, then got back out of line to choose an option. "I'm thinking that maybe I should choose the restricted signature and send it to the school because he's never home during the daytime on weekdays when the mail arrives. I'm not sure how many times they'd try to deliver it before it got sent back or held at the post office in Lima waiting for him to go get it."

"I see your point, but what would the school do?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe I could send it to him in care of Miss Pillsbury. She'd have to go get him in order to make him sign for it. At least it would get to him quickly. And she's the school counselor, so she's in her office most of the time. I'm going to go ask how to address the envelope."

Adam waited for Kurt to come back. He had the envelope in his hand with the address written on it. He put the letter from the legal office inside and the ziplock bag with the ring in it into the registered mail envelope. He got back in line and it was finally done. "That cost a small fortune," Kurt said.

"Well, at least you'll know he got it."

"Yes. That's the only reason I went to so much trouble. I knew he would just say that he never got it and that we were still engaged. I struggle to even say that. It makes me sick to think about. I did love him, but that was a long time ago at this point. He broke my heart six months ago. And things were rocky even last spring. But it's over. 100% completely over. His ring is on its way back to him."

A thought popped into Kurt's head. "I need to call my dad and let him know that I sent the ring back. I'm not going to go into the whole situation. I'm just going to tell him that I don't want to marry Blaine. Simple and to the point. Truth, without any details. Until I can offer everyone something substantial to explain what happened, I don't really know what else to say."

"You don't really owe anyone an explanation for a personal decision. If they don't like that you've changed your mind, that's on them not on you, darling."

"You're right, but I hate this whole situation. It's just maddening." Kurt pulled his phone out and turned it on to make the call. His dad accepted what he said, but not without trying to get more details. He finally just let it go when Kurt wouldn't provide him with any.

After he finished speaking with his dad, Kurt and Adam took the subway back to the loft.

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Once they were back at the loft, Kurt plopped down on the couch and closed his eyes. Adam sat next to him and pulled him close.

After a few minutes, Kurt began to speak, "We have four weeks left in the semester. I have a huge question for you, especially with what I've put you through in the last 24 hours."

"What, love? What is your huge question?"

"What would you think of me moving in with you until your lease is up in May? I know it would be cramped adding all of my stuff into your apartment, but in reality, there's nothing here in the loft that I need, except my personal items, like my clothes and school stuff. The rest of it is just stuff that Rachel and I have bought since we've been in New York. I can either sell off the furniture that I bought for my bedroom or I can sell it to Santana and let her take over my part of the lease and the apartment."

"Well, darling, I am not opposed to you moving in with me. It actually sounds quite lovely. I do quite like snuggling with you," he said as he pulled Kurt even closer and kissed the back of his neck.

Kurt smiled and continued, "Since Santana is working now, she should be able to cover the rent, but if she doesn't want to, it might take some time for me to find someone from NYADA to take over my part of the lease. I wouldn't be able to help much with expenses until someone starts to pay my share of the loft rent."

"Look, love. I pay all of the expenses on my own as it is. The only additional cost you will add is additional groceries and that would be no different for you than paying for groceries at the loft."

"I don't want you to think I'm being a freeloader."

"Darling, the very fact that you are concerned about being a freeloader just confirms that you are most definitely not one."

"Let's go get some boxes and tape. We'll pack up my stuff. I think we might need one of those SUV taxis though to take it all to your place, if you're sure that you're okay with the idea."

"I am fine with it as long as you are sure that you want to do this. Why do you want to move out of the loft?"

"Both Rachel and Santana knew that I was over Blaine and that I love you. Yet, they both came to the proposal and participated as if it was the best idea since sliced bread. Why would people who know that I'm not in love with someone want to help that person propose? I can somewhat understand my dad. And the other members of New Directions since I doubt Blaine told anyone why we had broken up. I know that Sam knows the truth, but he's not the gossiping type, plus he and Finn weren't there. And I guess I can see people who don't know me might have thought that it would be a cool idea. Those big, flashy proposals are all the rage on YouTube. But anyone who knows me well, would know that I wouldn't like a public proposal."

"You _are_ a very private person. A bold, fashionable private person," he said.

"Rachel and Finn were here when Blaine confessed to me that he had cheated on me and honestly I'm not sure how Santana found out, probably from Rachel. I just couldn't bring myself to admit that he had cheated on me to my dad or anyone else. Everyone probably assumed it was just the distance that caused us to break up since I never said anything. Growing up, everyone around me treated me like I wasn't a man. And I just felt like I wasn't 'man enough' to keep Blaine. When he told me that he had cheated on me, he said that I wasn't there for him and he needed me. I felt like it was my fault, that I let him down somehow."

"Sweetheart, it is always the cheater's choice to cheat and never the fault of the person cheated on. The cheater always has the opportunity to break up with their partner and choose someone new. Cheating is a choice."

"I know that now, and deep down I'm sure I knew that then. But at the time, I had just gotten to New York. I had failed my audition to get into NYADA. I had been here for less than 3 weeks. I had just gotten the internship, but I still wore my failure like a veil. It clouded how I viewed myself. My whole relationship with Blaine clouded how I viewed myself. You helped me to see that when you helped me realize that I couldn't even accept a simple compliment three months ago."

"See this is why I didn't break up with you, love. I know that you would not cheat on me after everything you've been through. If you had decided that you no longer wanted to be with me, you would have called me. I would have known you had changed your mind a few days ago. You would never cheat on me like that."

"Thank you for believing in me." Kurt grabbed Adam's hand and pulled it up to his heart and kept talking. "Anyway, both of them knew that I was in love with you and not Blaine, but I guess that didn't fit into their 'happily ever after high school gay love story'," Kurt said sarcastically making finger quotes. "I just don't know what else to think. But I do know that I cannot live with them anymore knowing that they would help him without talking to me to figure out what had changed in the few days I was in Lima."

"I can understand that."

"I left NY with you as my boyfriend, in an exclusive relationship, in love with you."

Adam smiled.

Kurt went on, "How could they just believe that I had done a 180 and would agree not only to break up with you and date him, but that in a few days' time that I would agree to marry someone I had been broken up with for over six months?"

"I know, darling. I know," Adam said reassuringly. "It makes no sense."

"This is the final straw with them. I have supported both of them, emotionally in Rachel's case and financially in Santana's. They just can't see past their own ideas. I'm not a princess in a fairy tale. Blaine is not my prince who will whisk me off into the sunset to my 'happily ever after'. I've been the butt of Santana's jibes for years. She's called me 'Lady Hummel' on a consistent basis for a long time. I am not a girl. I do not want to a girl. I am a man."

"I can attest to that," Adam said while wiggling his eyebrows.

Kurt smiled, but went back to what he was saying, "Rachel pushed me out of the spotlight for 3 years in high school and even when I won the contest fair and square at Midnight Madness, she was an incredibly sore loser. She has to be on top and to get there, she'll push anyone down that gets in her way, including her 'best friend'. I'm done."

"I understand, love. I really do. I've been here and seen Santana in action and I was there in the hallway when Rachel suggested that you try out for Fanny after Midnight Madness. I tried to think that she was just admitting how good you are, but since I've gotten to know her better, I have to wonder if she was just implying that you'd never make it in a man's role on stage. I've never really figured out why she considers you to be her competition. It would be an unlikely situation where the two of you would go up for the same part."

"Back in Senior year, she refused to kiss me during my audition for Tony in _West Side Story_ and she didn't advocate for me at all when I lost the role to Blaine. She was more than happy to play Maria with Blaine as her Tony. He was the man that I wasn't in her eyes."

"And you stayed friends with her?"

"She and Blaine got everything. Always. I guess I just got used to losing. But I'm done with that. I'm never seeing Blaine again if I can help it. And I'm not living with Rachel or Santana anymore. Actually I can't really think of anyone I want to keep in contact with, except my family and Sam. I can't really fault my dad for taking me to the proposal when I hadn't been honest with him about the break up."

"So, moving out of the loft then. Shall we go find some boxes and tape and pack all of your stuff up?"

"Let's do it. We need to stop by the Super's office on the way out. I want my name off the lease and I'll give him the key. Rachel's dads can afford the rent if Santana refuses to pay her part and Rachel can kick her out and find someone to take her place. I've decided I'm just done and I'm not dealing with it anymore."

"Okay, love. Let's go get the boxes."

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Kurt and Adam managed to box up all of Kurt's possessions in record time. They dropped by the Super's and removed Kurt's name from the lease and turned his key in. Adam called for an SUV taxi while Kurt was working on the lease issue.

By the time Kurt came out, Adam had loaded over half the boxes into the SUV. Kurt helped him finish. They gave the driver Adam's address. They pulled up in front of Adam's place and got all of the boxes back out of the taxi.

Kurt paid the driver and turned to Adam, "I hadn't given this part of the process much thought. I guess we'll have to take turns carrying boxes up the stairs. It was easier with the elevator." After many trips up and down the stairs, they managed to get all of the boxes into Adam's apartment.

They flopped down on the couch. "Pizza." Kurt declared. "We've worked enough to earn the carbs and fat." Adam pulled out his phone and called his favorite pizza shop to have a pizza delivered.

"I've kept my phone off since I was on the plane, except when I was talking to my dad earlier. I think I'm going to need to go get a new number. But I'm too tired to go back out tonight. I'm just going to leave it off."

Kurt saw Adam's laptop on his coffee table. "Can I use your laptop for a few minutes?" Adam nodded. "Do you have a blank DVD handy? I don't want to dig through the boxes to find one." Adam got up and brought a DVD back and handed it to Kurt. "Thanks," he said as he slid it into the computer.

Kurt went to his FaceBook page and downloaded all of the images he had in his albums. Then he moved on to Twitter and Instagram and did the same thing. He used his phone cable and downloaded all of the images on his phone to the DVD as well.

After he double-checked that all of the images were on the DVD, he went back and deactivated his Facebook account and deleted the other two. He'd deal with his email account later. Until then, he could just delete any emails he got from people that he didn't want any contact with.

Adam handed him a permanent marker to write on the DVD. "Thanks," he said, and used it to label the DVD. He put it in the paper sleeve and then laid it on the table next to the laptop. "I'll sort through the photos later. I'm not in the mood to see 100 photos of Blaine right now. I'm throwing out that DVD once I've transferred the photos I actually want to keep to my laptop in a few days.

"Makes perfect sense to me. You don't want to be cyber-stalked. I get it."

"You get me. You just do. I've never met anyone like you," Kurt said as he slid back on the couch and snuggled into Adam's chest. "You are amazing."

"Well, the feeling is mutual because I happen to think that you are amazing."

Just then, they heard the buzzing from the intercom. Adam pressed the button and answered, "I'll be right down." Adam came back up with the pizza and Kurt let him in the apartment.

"mm. That smells good. I'm starving."

They polished off the pizza in no time.

"Shower?" Kurt asked.

"Definitely. Then to bed, I'm tuckered out."

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The next morning, Adam woke first. He slipped out of bed and started both tea and coffee, unsure which Kurt would want. He made a large omelette and by the time everything was ready, Kurt came out of the bedroom in a slight daze. "I smell tea and food. You are a saint."

"Not a saint. I just love you and wanted to make you breakfast. Here's your plate and your tea." They sat and ate in silence, both just a little too sleepy for conversation. After eating, they dressed and headed out to the nearest phone store.

Kurt sat down on a bench in the store and Adam followed. "I forgot to copy my contact info down. I'm just going to screen shot my contacts and email them to myself."

"That's a brilliant idea. And quick too."

Kurt took a number and walked around while he waited, a little too antsy to sit still.. Adam waited for him on the bench. A half hour later, Kurt had his new number and showed it to Adam, who immediately added it to his phone. Kurt texted his dad and told him not to give the number to anyone but Carole for now.

"I just thought of something else. What am I going to do about work? I work with both of them. I just can't escape."

"Let's think. What else could you get a job doing almost immediately? Don't you get paid for working at Vogue?"

"I do, but it's not enough."

"Your level of 'enough' has changed. If you don't have to pay rent at the loft, can you manage the rest of your expenses on what you make at Vogue, at least temporarily?"

"That's a good point. And yes, without paying rent, I'd be okay. As to what else I could do, I could go back to working as a mechanic."

"A mechanic?"

"Yes, I've been a certified mechanic since I was 16. I've been an ASE-certified mechanic since I was 18. I worked in my dad's shop for years."

"Well, that has to pay better that working in a diner."

"True, but working as a singing waiter seemed like it would be more fun. And it probably would be more fun if I didn't have to work with Rachel and Santana. Coming to New York was about trying new things. Vogue and the diner were new. Working on cars is something I've done since I was 8."

"Let's sit down somewhere and see where the closest repair shops are and call and see if any of them are hiring." After a half hour of calls, they had found one place not too far away that was hiring. They made their way over to the shop so Kurt could fill out an application. He filled it out and talked to the owner. The owner told him that so long as his references and certification checked out that he could use Kurt up to 10 hours a week, but no guaranteed hours until he could prove himself.

"Well, that's not a bad deal. You've got some presentations and finals coming up in the next month that will keep you busy. You'll make more than you did at the diner, so you won't need as many hours anyway."

"You're right. I hope this works out. Let's head back home."

"I like that. That your home is with me," Adam said as he reached for Kurt's hand and they walked back to the apartment.

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When they got upstairs, Adam said, "Why don't you go pull the clothes out of your suitcase and at least get those hung in the closet. You can set up that portable clothes rack you had over next to the dresser for now. That way you can get the things that wrinkle back on hangers quickly. While you do all that, I'll make us some lunch."

Kurt came back a while later. "Well, I got the important stuff hung up, but we're going to have to reorganize some things to make room for some of my other stuff. I'm not going to keep everything. I really need to make some decisions anyway. Living in New York is not going to allow me to have a massive walk-in closet like I had at home. I need to be more practical and let go of some things I've been holding onto but never actually wear. Maybe there will be a fashion show later and you can help me decide," Kurt said as he wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.

"Ooh, I daresay I think I've become much more interested in fashion shows all of a sudden."

"I thought you might," Kurt laughed. "Maybe you can return the favor. Surely, there are things in there that you could part with."

"Maybe. Just maybe," Adam teased. "Come over and eat." Adam served a simple tomato-based vegetable soup. After they'd eaten, Kurt washed the dishes while Adam dried them and put them away. They went back and plopped on the couch.

"I need to go down to the diner and tell Gunther that I won't be back, but I need to see if Santana will take my shifts first. I also need to talk to her about taking over my half of the loft. But I have to find some way to get her alone. I'm going to call her, but block the outgoing number. That way she won't know my number and share it."

"That's a good idea."

"Santana, this is Kurt. I need you to come meet me at the coffee shop across from the diner. I can meet you as soon as you can get there. Don't bring Rachel. See ya."

"I'm going to go meet her. You have my number if you need me. I be back in a few hours. I'll bring something for dinner back with me. Maybe you can sort through your clothes for my personal fashion show when I get back," Kurt teased.

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Kurt managed to keep an air of civility during his meeting with Santana. She hadn't been home long enough to notice that all of drawers were empty and his stuff was missing so she didn't come in blasting both barrels. She agreed to take over his part of the lease and she decided that she'd rather buy Kurt's furniture than to have him sell it off and buy furniture of her own from someone else. She knew Kurt's stuff was bedbug free.

He refused to answer any questions about why he had moved out. Santana went with him to the diner and after Kurt told Gunther that he was quitting, Santana offered to take all of Kurt's shifts that she could for the next two weeks. She needed the extra money to pay Kurt for the furniture.

Kurt left the diner and took the subway back home.

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He got there and realized that he didn't have a key to get in. He buzzed the apartment. Adam came right down. "I guess I need to give you my extra key, don't I?" Kurt took Adam's hand and they walked up the stairs hand in hand.

"So, how did your meeting with the dragon lady go?"

Kurt laughed at the epithet. He described his afternoon as he plated the Chinese food he had brought back with him. "Better than I had anticipated. She was in a gracious mood and was shockingly cooperative. She's taking over my half of the loft, buying my furniture and took all my shifts that she could for the next two weeks. I told Gunther that I quit. I know it will look bad that I didn't work there long and didn't give two weeks notice, but I don't plan on using Gunther as a reference when Isabelle and the foreman at my dad's shop would be much better references anyway."

Kurt took a look toward the bedroom and didn't see any clothes on the bed. "Did you decide against the fashion show?"

"Actually, I did sort my clothes, they're just on top of a box where you can't see them from where you're sitting. But it's been a long weekend and we need to get up early and get to NYADA before classes start so that you can talk to Madame Tibideaux, fill out a change of address form and make an appointment with the school psychologist. I thought we'd have a post-dinner massage, bath and a nice cuddle before going to sleep early."

"That sounds like a most excellent plan," Kurt said.

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The next morning arrived earlier than either of them cared for, but they got up and made their way to school, stopping along the way for a muffin and a cup of coffee. Kurt made an appointment for Thursday with the psychologist because the lab results would be back before then.

While waiting in Madame Tibideaux's reception area, he filled out the change of address paperwork he had been given. After about 15 minutes, he was summoned into Madame Tibideaux's office.

Their interaction began with the usual "What can I do for you today, Mr. Hummel?" that he heard any time he had been in her office.

"I'm honestly not quite sure how to deal with a personal issue, Madame Tibideaux."

"We have a psychologist on staff to help our students with their personal issues, Mr. Hummel."

"I am aware. I have an appointment on Thursday and I visited the legal aid office Saturday morning."

"Then what is it that you need from me exactly?"

"You are aware that I spent last week in Lima due to a family issue." She nodded. "Well, some things took place and Rachel and I are no longer on speaking terms. I realize that this is a personal problem and I will not let it affect me professionally here at school. But I just wanted you to be aware in case anything happens. I am not a rumor spreader, but you are aware of Rachel's persistence when she feels that she is right in a matter." She nodded again and smirked. "Yes, well I see that you remember. Anyway, I will not allow it to be a problem on my end. And I hope that she does the same. Thank you for your time, Madame Tibideaux."

"It has come to my attention that Miss Berry has accepted the role of Fanny Brice, so I am not at all certain that she will be continuing in her pursuit of a degree from this institution. Be that as it may, I will keep what you have said in mind, should any issues arise that involve you and Miss Berry. Thank you for stopping by, Mr. Hummel. I hope Dr. Mansfield is able to give you some insight into your personal issues."

"As do I. Thank you, Madame Tibideaux." Kurt rose from his chair and exited the office. Kurt went out into the hallway to find Adam.

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"Follow me." He led Adam to an empty classroom and moved in close to whisper in his ear. "Rachel got Fanny. Somehow Madame Tibideaux already knows and spoke of it as if it were common knowledge. I deleted all of my social media accounts. She probably posted it there and on the NYADA chat."

"That sounds like a disaster in the making. She's in no way ready for stardom."

"Oh, I know. But she would never listen to anyone who told her that. Let's go outside." Kurt and Adam left the building and walked down the street a ways before they started to speak again. "I'm glad I made the decision to leave when I did. She will be a nightmare to live with. The diva attitude she had on display back after the Showcase will pale in comparison to the attitude she will be sporting now that she got her dream role."

"I can only imagine."

"I'm not sure that you can actually. She literally believes herself to be the one who will carry on Barbra Streisand's legacy. I had to get permission from her to even sing a Streisand song at school if I didn't want to be the recipient of a massive tongue lashing from her."

"That's a bit much."

"For sure, but I'm going let this go for now because I don't want to be overheard even this far from campus. I don't actually have class until 11:00 today because my earlier morning class was cancelled. I got an email about an hour ago. I need to go put all of my work that was due last week into my professor's mail slots. The deal was that I had to turn everything in by 10:00 this morning. Let's head back and do that before I accidentally miss the deadline while gabbing on the sidewalk."

Kurt went inside, delivered all of his assignments to their correct slots, then went back out to Adam. "When is your first class?"

"Oh, it's at 10:00. Maybe we can just go work on our assignments in the library. My last class ends at 4:00, I'll go home right after that."

"My last class ends at 2:00 today. After that, I need to go to Vogue and at least check in with Isabelle to see what she has for me to do this week. I should get home about the same time as you, maybe a little later. I'll text you if I'm going to be later than 5:30. Let's head over to the library."

They spent the rest of their morning before their respective classes working on final projects or studying for upcoming exams. They both moved through their day attending all of their classes and rehearsals.

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Kurt left quickly after his last class and went to Isabelle's office. "I'm so sorry for the way I look. I came right after class. I just came by to see what you have for me to do this week." Isabelle explained the tasks that she needed for him to do that week.

He also told her about some of his recent changes, such as his address, that he had quit the diner and that he'd taken a different second job as a mechanic. She laughed thinking he was teasing. Then, quickly realized that he wasn't joking.

"Oh, I know. No one ever thinks that I'm actually a mechanic, but it's true and it pays better than the diner so I can work fewer hours total."

After arranging his work schedule for the week and stopping by his tiny office to collect some things he needed, he headed out.

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He made it home before 5:30 and found Adam in their kitchen prepping vegetables that would be part of their dinner.

"Do you need any help?" he asked.

"No, love. I've got it."

"Great, then I'm going to take a quick shower."

Kurt returned quickly wearing just his pajama pants.

"Well, I like that ensemble. It says, 'Please cuddle me.'"

Kurt just laughed at him. He moved and gave Adam a hug and then sat down at the table to eat with him.

They both actually had a lot of schoolwork to do and spent the evening doing that, but they did manage to get in quite a bit of cuddle time while reading school assignments.

Kurt realized that he didn't need the Ambien anymore. Sleeping in the same bed with Adam seemed to cure his insomnia, which was a huge relief. Sleeping unmedicated made him wake up much more refreshed as well. So, it was a win-win.

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The next day passed in a blur of classes and assignments. Kurt did manage to work several hours at Vogue and completed what Isabelle had asked him to do.

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On Wednesday, he finally got a call from the garage asking him to come in and work for two hours late Thursday afternoon as his first trial work day. He also got a call from the clinic stating that the only substances found on the drug test were consistent with his Ambien and Xanax usage.

Thursday loomed a little heavy on Kurt and Adam's minds after the call from the lab because they both thought that maybe what happened had some simple explanation – some weird drug interaction. But it didn't seem like that was the case.


	2. Chapter 2

Thursday morning, Kurt left early to go to his scheduled appointment. By the time he got there, he was quite upset again. The weight of what he had done, combined with the total lack of explanation made him feel like he was going crazy. Dr. Mansfield was a pleasant woman in her late 30s who had the ability to make someone feel comfortable in her presence immediately. Kurt sat down and recounted what had happened over the course of 30 minutes.

"Kurt, I'm really sorry to say that I've never read any evidence that taking those two medications can cause anything like what you've described."

"I know. I've taken them simultaneously before and never had anything like this happen. That's why I went and had the drug screening. I thought maybe there was a minor chance that I had accidentally taken one of my dad's or my stepmother's medications instead of, or in addition to, the two I was taking. It just seemed like the most logical possible answer. Some weird drug interaction."

"I agree. Even from my perspective with years of work in this field, nothing comes to mind as a cause of what you described."

"Well, that's disheartening. I really don't want it to happen again and without knowing what caused it, there's no definitive way to prevent it. I've already decided that even on the rare chance that it was some fluke interaction, I'm not ever taking those two medications together again. Actually, I've quit taking the Ambien altogether. Since I moved in with my boyfriend over the weekend, I've slept well every night with no need for it anyway."

"Well, now there's a solution doctors can't prescribe: move in with your boyfriend to solve your insomnia," she laughed. "But really, I'm glad that you've been sleeping well."

"So am I."

"Well, Kurt. I'm sorry to say that I don't really have an answer to your burning question of 'How did that happen?', but just from our brief talk today, I do think that you might benefit from twice-a-week sessions for the rest of the semester to help you work through the anger you still feel toward your ex and your high school friends. Is that something you'd be interested in setting up?"

"Well, I've already decided that they are my ex-friends, but I think that dealing with the anger would be better than not. I'll definitely set up some appointments. I really want to leave all of this behind. Adam's great and my ex-friends are never going to accept him as part of my life. I need to figure out what I'm doing. There have been a lot of changes happening quickly. Maybe talking will help. At least I don't see how it could hurt. Thanks for your time."

Kurt stopped by the receptionist's desk and made the recommended appointments. He walked out of the office, down the hall and exited the building. He sent Adam a text instead of calling first because he honestly couldn't remember whether he was in class. He called right back. Kurt didn't want to go over his session on the phone, but they decided to meet in a nearby park for lunch.

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Kurt's face lit up when he saw Adam approach. "Now there's that smile I love. Good news, darling?"

"Not really, but I still feel somehow better. Maybe it was just talking about it. Dr. Mansfield has no idea what caused me to behave so out of character, but she's offered to help me work through my anger towards my exes."

"Exes, as in plural?"

"Yeah, my ex-boyfriend and my ex-friends."

"Ah, I see. Well, if you think she'll be helpful, then I'm all for it. I brought your favorite sandwich from the shop down the street." Adam handed Kurt a brown paper sack. He peeked inside and smiled again.

Kurt and Adam ate in silence for a while. Kurt checked his email and spoke suddenly. "I can't be alone."

"What do you mean, love?"

"I just saw the email confirmation. Blaine signed for the letter yesterday. It won't take long for him to realize that he cannot contact me by phone or through social media. He's persistent. I have no idea what happened to me in Ohio. I can't have it happen to me here too. He'll come here when he realizes that he's been completely blocked."

"Do you really think so? Sending him a letter asking him not to contact you and blocking every other method of contact isn't enough of a brick wall for him to get the message?"

"I doubt it. He doesn't take 'no' for an answer any better than Rachel does."

"I see."

"They really would have been perfect for each other if he were bi."

"Kurt?"

"Oh, it's a long story. The short version is that before we were dating, he got drunk, kissed Rachel, had a mini sexual identity crisis, went on a date with her, then decided that he was certain that he was gay after he kissed her sober."

Adam looked perplexed.

"Anyway, she would have been a perfect match for him. At the time she said something along the lines of him being able to give her 'slightly Eurasian looking babies and keep up with her vocally.' Never mind that I have a broader range than Blaine. We're back to the 'I'm not man enough.' issue. That seems like a recurring theme. I should add it to my to-talk-about list with the psychologist."

"Well, I have no doubts about your masculinity," Adam said as he smiled and pulled Kurt in for a kiss.

Kurt pulled back slowly. "Not that I don't enjoy this particular activity, but I have to figure out how to keep him from getting anywhere near me for the next three days, which seem to be the most likely time for him to show up unannounced since it's the weekend."

"Well, baring hiring a bodyguard, I can't think of anything immediately. I have a class in 30 minutes. What time do you finish today?"

"Well, I'm done at 2:00, but I'm supposed to go work at the garage for 2 hours starting at 3:00."

"Alright then, love. I have a plan. You go fix some cars and I will be there when you get off and we'll go home together." They walked back to campus and headed on to their classes.

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Kurt walked into his history of theater class to find Rachel waiting for him. It had slipped his mind that she was in this class with him.

"Kurt," she attempted to speak quietly, but Rachel being Rachel, her voiced carried anyway. "Can we speak after class?"

"No, Rachel. I have to go to work as soon as class ends."

"How about after you get off from work."

"I have plans already."

"Tomorrow."

"I have plans then as well."

"Why are you refusing to speak to me."

"I'm pretty sure you could figure that out if you think about it hard enough. I am not interested in having any more conversations with you."

"I know what you did to Blaine."

"I'm sure that everyone knows what I 'did to Blaine'," he said using finger air quotes.

"Kurt, you're being unfair."

"Rachel, you say that a lot, but what's unfair is that you don't take my answers at face value. We have nothing to talk about. End of conversation."

At that point, their professor walked into the room and Rachel stopped trying to talk to Kurt. Unfortunately, Kurt's luck didn't allow for Rachel to remain quiet for long. As soon as class ended, she started up again.

"You moved out without a word, you broke up with Blaine, you quit the diner."

"Rachel, stop talking. This is no one's business but mine and everyone within 15 feet can hear you. Just hush."

Kurt walked out the classroom door, down the hallway, and opened the door to get outside. Rachel was practically on his heels. He didn't really want to waste the money, but he motioned and whistled for a cab and jumped in and shut the door behind him quickly. The cab pulled away with Rachel still standing there. He asked the cabbie to take him to the next subway stop, he got out and went into the subway and made his way to the garage.

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He slipped into the provided coveralls and got to work on the task he was given. The owner stopped by a few times to check on his progress. He moved on to the rest of the things he was asked to do and at the end of the two hours, the owner was impressed with his efficiency. "Today went well and you handled the tasks well and got them done quickly. Can you come in on Monday evening? I have a few harder jobs that I'd like to see you work on to see first hand that you can handle them."

"I can come in Monday at 7:00. I know you're not usually open that late, but would that work since you want to observe me?"

"That's fine. I'll see you then."

"Just a question, do I leave the coveralls or is this my personal pair?"

"Leave them for now. There's a bin in the changing room. Once I've decided to keep you, I'll order you a personalized set."

"Okay. I'll be back on Monday." Kurt left and changed his clothes.

Kurt sat in the waiting area for Adam to arrive. While waiting, he opened his phone to check for any messages, not really expecting any since only 3 people had his number now, but to his surprise there were several and they were all from Carole. Rather than text, he decided to step outside and call her.

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"Hey, honey. I figure you've seen my texts by now."

"Yeah. I figured this would start, but I had hoped it wouldn't."

"Well, Finn came home from McKinley this afternoon asking where you were. Of course, I told him New York. I asked him why he was asking. He said that Blaine told him that he wanted to talk to you, but that your phone seemed to be broken and that Rachel told him that you hadn't been home this week. So, he wanted to go see you since he missed you so much."

"Oh yeah. That was about 10% true. I will tell you what's going on, but you can't tell Finn. Finn just needs to know that I'm fine. If you want me to tell him myself, you can put him on the phone at some point. Now, that I think about it, do you have your phone password protected?"

"No, sweetie. I've never seen any need for it. Of course, your father's is because he gets government emails and things that could be private."

"I need you to go ahead and password protect your phone because I just can't trust Blaine not to come up with a way to get my number from your phone somehow."

"Ok, honey. I'll add a passcode as soon as we hang up."

"Well, here's what's happened. I changed my number, deleted my social media accounts, blocked Blaine's email, and I moved out of the loft. That last part was the 10% he had right. I haven't been at the loft since Rachel and Santana came back Sunday. I've decided that I'm not going to deal with people who do not treat me with respect. Right now, I'm only speaking to you and Dad, and I guess Finn by default because he's my brother. But I figured that Blaine would try to use him to get information on me. At least I know my suspicions were right."

"What do you mean?"

"I left something out. I sent the engagement ring and a breakup letter to him and he signed for it yesterday. So, I figured it wouldn't take him long after that to figure out that I had blocked him from contacting me. My suspicion was that he couldn't take 'we are never getting back together' as an answer, no matter how officially the message was sent. I figured he would show up here looking for me."

"Oh, honey. Where are you staying? Wait, never mind, don't tell me. Are you safe where you're staying? You're not at a homeless shelter or something are you?"

"No, no. I'm perfectly safe. I'm living in a small apartment."

"Oh good, I was scared there for a minute."

"Sorry about that. I'm fine, well at least physically. Is Finn still home?"

"Yes."

"Okay. When we hang up, tell him I'm calling him now and you put a passcode on your phone."

"Thanks for calling, sweetie. We need to talk more, but we can do that later." She hung up, told Finn that Kurt would be calling, and put the passcode like she said she would.

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Kurt blocked his outgoing number and called Finn. "Hey, Finn. It's Kurt. I'm fine there's no need to worry. I'm not living in the loft anymore. If you need me for something right away, just have your mom call me. I'm not giving my number out to anyone but her and Dad right now. I'm not going to talk about Blaine. Please do not bring him up. Not a topic we'll talk about."

He finally ended his monologue and Finn responded, "I know you said not to talk about him, but why did you say 'yes' to start with? I was there when he broke your heart. Why would you agree to marry him after all this time apart?"

"The truth is that I just don't know. I've gone to a doctor and I have an appointment with a psychologist. That is not information for you to share. Feel free to reassure him and anyone else that asks that you spoke with me and that I'm fine. Other than that, share nothing about me with him or anyone else. No more talk about him. If you ever need to talk to me about anything but him, let your mom know. She'll text me and I'll call you as soon as I can."

"Okay, dude. I have no idea what's going on here."

"Do you know why the moon doesn't crash into the earth?"

"Um, no not really."

"Well, this is just like that. You don't have to know what's going on to know that I am okay. I'm fine. Blaine and I are never getting back together. I gotta go now. Bye, Finn."

"Bye, Kurt."

By the time, he finished, Adam had been standing there for quite a while.

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"So you heard that, right?"

"I did."

"Well, Blaine told Finn that he had heard that I hadn't been to the loft since I came back from Ohio and that my phone is broken and that he's missed me so much that he needed Finn to tell him where I was so he could come visit me."

"Oh, darling. You were right, weren't you? I had hoped you were just overreacting because of the difficulty of everything that's gone on."

"Nope, not overreacting."

"So, now what?"

"Well, I figure he'll be here tomorrow because he'll know that he can track me down at school."

"What are you going to do? There's no way to ban him from entering the building. He hasn't actually done anything to harm you physically."

"Well, I guess I am too sick to go to class tomorrow. I'll email my instructors tonight around 9:00, explaining that I am too ill to attend class. That should prevent him from finding me easily, but I am sure that he can get someone on campus to give him your address. I know the building is locked, but that won't prevent him from hanging around outside. I don't have to work this weekend. I can just hole myself up at home."

"Cuddle and movie marathon?"

"I was thinking rearrange clothing, sort out unneeded items, empty all those boxes?"

"Well, my idea is more fun."

"I agree. Maybe if we're quick, we'll have time for both. I have quite a bit of schoolwork too."

"I think we need to stop at the grocery and stock up for the weekend."

"I agree. My budget can't take us ordering in all weekend. I've paid for too many taxis lately. I had to take one earlier today to escape from Rachel."

"What?"

"I'll tell you when we get home."

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An hour later and loaded down with as many bags as they could carry, Adam and Kurt made their way up the stairs and back into the apartment. They got everything put away, made some dinner and ate it. Kurt recounted Rachel's "intervention" while they ate. After they finished, they cleaned the kitchen up and moved to the living room.

"I'm tired of the drama for now. Do you want to hear the song I'm working on for my voice final?"

"Definitely. One of my favorite things to do is to listen to you sing."

Kurt docked his iPod, started the music, and sang along.

"Darling, that was beautiful. When do you perform?"

"Next week." He collected his iPod and put it bag in his bag.

"I really appreciate you letting me stay here with you. I'm still struggling with understanding how you can be here for me and not just want to toss me to the wolves. I mean I am the one that said 'yes', even though I have no idea why. And there's no indication that drugs were the cause."

"Come here, love." Adam pulled Kurt onto his lap. "Look me in the eyes." It was a struggle for Kurt, but he did. "That's right, love. Listen to me. You came to me the instant you returned to New York. You told me the truth. I have seen your former friends' odd compulsion to back your ex and be on his side. I don't know what kind of hold he has over people, but it seems to be more than just you that he's manipulated." He turned to sit diagonal and pull Kurt up against him. "I knew you were leery of going to Ohio. You never specifically said why, but knowing what you have been dealing with, I can surmise." Kurt nodded. "You have sought legal counsel and a therapist. You have blocked him from contacting you in every way that you can think of. There is nothing more that you could even try do to prove to me that I should believe you."

Kurt started crying.

"Oh, love. I believe you." He just held Kurt tight while he cried. After a few minutes, he calmed down a bit.

"Thank you. I don't know what I would do if you didn't."

"Well you don't have to worry about that, now do you darling?"

They sat snuggled up on the couch for a while. Eventually, they got up to work on some things around the apartment. Kurt emailed his professors. Fortunately, he didn't have any presentations to give the next day. He'd attempt to get notes from classmates.

While Kurt was busy on his laptop, Adam had opened his as well and found that he had been sent a bunch of private messages and Rachel had posted on his FB wall. He unfriended Rachel and all of Kurt's ex-friends and deleted Rachel's post. "They are relentless, are they not?"

Kurt looked up. "What?"

"Rachel's taken to pestering me on Facebook, but I unfriended her. I unfriended the rest of your ex-friends too. I'm changing my settings. No more unwanted posts to my page. No one can view my photos, for now at least. I'm locking everything down."

"I'm so sorry Adam. This is all my fault."

"Hey now, love. We've been over this. Only things you do can be your fault. Things someone else does cannot. You do not control other people's actions. Rachel needs to grow up. She got Fanny. Broadway stars do not troll their previous best friend's boyfriend's Facebook, and I use that term loosely because I'm not sure that she's ever been a friend to you. I think it's a good thing I never ventured into the realm of other social media sites. Locking down one is daunting enough."

"That's why I just deleted my other accounts."

"I understand, but I share what I'm doing with my family through Facebook. I may just have to delete everyone who is not a family member for now. I think that's what I'll do. I'll delete all non-family members. If people notice and still want to be my friend, they can send a request. That will get rid of the lurkers without blocking out my family."

"I've had enough drama for today. How about we have a nice relaxing bath and go to bed early."

"Why don't you go run the bath and I'll finish this up and I'll be right in."

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The next morning, Kurt made breakfast and Adam headed off to his classes after they ate.

Kurt decided that he'd go ahead and sort the clothes on his own because as much fun as a "fashion show" sounded, it was really just a lot of grunt work to try things on one after another. He spent several hours sorting clothes into piles of definitely keep, definitely sell and a pile of things to try on – each within their own subgroup of pants, shirts, coats, etc. Once he had everything sorted, he got to work on his task.

By lunchtime, he had made decent progress and had reboxed the items he wanted to sell. While eating, he looked up resale shops, looking for the right location to take his stuff. He eventually found a place, but it was a little far from the apartment, but he bookmarked it.

After lunch he went back through the stacks of items he was keeping and neatly folded all of the winter-only clothing and packed the clothes in boxes and marked them WINTER KEEP in big bold letters.

Having taken a decent break from trying the clothes on, he went back to trying on the last of them. The jackets were the hardest. Jackets were costly compared to other items, but he just had too many. He tried them all on and eventually paired them down to a more manageable number.

He took a tour of the apartment. It was really quite small, but since Adam had lived there alone, he hadn't had to maximize the space. Now, Kurt needed to come up with some not-too-invasive ideas for how to make some more room. He didn't want Adam to feel like he had moved in and taken over his apartment.

He realized that Adam had a small desk and the kitchen table, which wasn't a good place to do his work since he and Adam both actually cooked and ate at home most of the time. He was going to need his own desk, even it had to be a small one. He checked Adam's bed frame and found that it was the type that could have bed risers put under it. He opened all of Adam's drawers, not riffling through them, but just looking to see how well they were organized and whether they were full. He checked the closet for potential improvement. After thoroughly examining the whole apartment, he had a fairly short shopping list. He didn't want to invest in much since Adam's lease was up in a month and he was graduating.

Adam was graduating. It hit him like a ton of bricks. He'd known all along that Adam was a senior, but with his dad being sick and the constant Rachel and Santana drama, somehow matching "Adam is a senior" with "Adam is graduating" just never happened. What was Adam doing after graduation? Is he going back to England? Kurt began to cry.

Adam walked in the door after class to find Kurt on the couch crying. He could see that boxes had been moved around. "Did you hurt yourself with the boxes, love?" He moved to Kurt's side and stroked his cheek. "Are you injured?"

"No. I didn't hurt myself. I actually made a lot of progress. I even found a place to sell the stuff I'm not keeping."

"Well, that's good."

"How was school?"

"Why were you crying?"

"You first."

"Blaine showed up with Rachel after lunch. My guess is that she had gone to meet him at the airport and brought him back to NYADA."

"Go on."

"She took him to wait outside the classroom you should have been in this afternoon."

"Tell me you took a photo of this."

"I did."

"Good."

"I tried to disappear into the crowd before she saw me, but to no avail. She followed me with him chasing after her. I managed to slip into a classroom until they had gone past and I double backed and went out the opposite side of the building. But I doubt it will take her long to find someone willing to give her my address or at least my phone number."

"The only upside I can think of is that he'll go back to Ohio by Monday. At least I think he'll go back by then so he doesn't miss more school. The downside is that he might come back every weekend. His parents are loaded."

"Oh."

"Can you log onto your Facebook account?"

"Sure, love." He handed Kurt his phone. Kurt navigated to Blaine's page. He had everything set to public.

"Oh. My. God." Kurt nearly dropped the phone.

"Show me." Kurt handed the phone to Adam. His face hardened and his eyes narrowed. "That is… I don't even know."

On the screen, a photo of Kurt appeared with "Lost in NYC. Have you seen my fiancé?" at the top of it and at the bottom, "Text sighting locations, with photo if possible, to ***-###-****." It had already been shared over 1000 times.

"I bet he posted it to his Twitter and Instagram too. I can't leave the apartment."

"I'm taking a screenshot this. I'm going to legal aid services tomorrow morning. This is just insane." Adam was fooling with his phone. I can't see anything on Twitter or Instagram without an account. I guess I could make accounts quickly just so we can see if you are right." Adam quickly made accounts and searched for Blaine's accounts and sure enough, he had posted the same photo and it had been shared thousands of times.

"This is just a nightmare."

"Back to my first question. Why were you crying when I came in?"

"You're graduating."

"Yes, you knew that."

"What are you doing afterwards?" Kurt began to cry again. "This afternoon when I was looking around and thinking of ways of increasing the storage space in here without crowding you, I realized that there was no point in doing anything permanent because your lease is up in May. And then I realized that you may have been planning to leave in May since you hadn't said anything about moving to a different apartment."

"Well, love. I had planned to go back to England for the summer. Then I was going to come back and start auditioning for roles."

"Everything is so insane. What am I going to do? Even if I manage to get that photo of me pulled down, it's been shared so many times already that I'll never get it to go away."

"Well, I've taken screen shots of the photo on Twitter and Instagram. I'm going to show the lawyer tomorrow morning. Even if all of his appointments are full, I'm going to sit in the waiting room until he sees me. I'll probably end up having to have you on the phone to get him to answer questions since the case isn't actually mine."

"Whatever it takes. Are there any second-hand shops nearby?"

"Yes, there's one a couple of blocks over."

"Is it still open."

"I think so."

"I have a crazy idea."

"Let's hear it then, love."

"Go down to the shop, buy a long sleeved dress, size 14. Get a hat and a cheap wig. Anything long enough to cover my neck. Something that looks a fairly natural color. I'll go out to legal aid in the morning in drag. I'll do my make up. No one will recognize me. I can't go to class like that, but I can sneak out long enough to try to get something done about this."

Adam left and came back about an hour later. Kurt put the dress on. He knew it would probably be a bit big, but he didn't want to risk it being too small. He put the wig and hat on. "There. It's perfect. With some make up, I can do this."

"Well, you're not much to look at, love. That dress is so _not_ your color." He laughed.

"Thanks a lot, Adam. Aren't you supposed to be telling me that I'm lovely no matter what I wear?"

"Yes, dear," he teased. "You look _lovely_."

The day had been too overwhelming, Kurt just couldn't try to figure anything else out. He and Adam ate the salad that he had prepped earlier and had stored in the fridge since he hadn't known exactly when Adam would be home. While they ate, they tried to relax on the couch and watched episodes of _Doctor Who_. After a few episodes, Adam collected up their bowls, utensils and glasses and put them in the sink to soak.

He walked back to the couch and pulled Kurt up. "Come on, darling. Into the shower with you. You and that _lovely_ dress of yours have somewhere to be early tomorrow morning."

Adam and Kurt showered and got into bed. "My hope is that neither of them suspect that you'd be at school tomorrow morning since the only weekend classes are extension classes. We'll take the subway, but I'll walk 10 feet back from you or so. That way if they are camped out looking for me, maybe you can get past them before they notice me. I'll meet you in the legal aid office, unless I can't get in the building without them seeing me. Then I'll just text you and we can come up with another plan." Adam turned the light off and got back into bed.

"I wish I could just turn this nightmare off. I should have never gone back to Lima, like ever."

"Well, we can't undo what's done. Let's see what tomorrow brings. Good night, love." He pulled Kurt close, kissed him and held him tight.

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Unfortunately, their rest was short-lived when Kurt's phone started ringing endlessly. He got up and finally caught it on the third ringing cycle. "Yeah, Dad it's me. It's late. Why are you calling me? Oh, that. I'm not missing. I'm fine. I'm where I have been this whole week. I'm also not his fiancé. I'm seeing a lawyer in the morning. I'll let you know what I find out. I'm sorry he scared you with that picture. Really, I'm fine. I'm in my new apartment. I was sleeping in my bed. Dad, I'll call you tomorrow. Get some sleep. Bye."

Kurt went back and got in bed. "Well, the photo has gone around enough that someone called my dad saying that they had seen the picture and wanted to know if I had been found yet."

"That must have scared your dad."

"He doesn't need this. It's just ridiculous. How long do you think it's going to take someone to bump this to the news? 'Ohio Congressman's son missing in New York City – details at six'," he said in his best news anchorman voice. He moved and lay on Adam's chest, listening to his heartbeat, wondering if it would have been easier to just play the role everyone had cast him in. Eventually, he fell asleep.

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The next morning went more smoothly than Kurt could have hoped for. He and Adam made it to the legal aid office with no interference. And fortunately, there was an opening. It seemed that university students liked sleeping in on Saturdays enough to take the later appointments.

The lawyer looked through the screenshots and was surprised. "I honestly thought you were being an overdramatic theater student last week. I did what you asked because that's my job, but I didn't expect to ever see you again."

"Well, I may be a theater student, but I'm not the type to cry 'wolf'. I don't bother people or ask for help unless it's absolutely necessary."

"I know you aren't going to like this and I need your permission to do it, but I really think you need to speak to Madame Tibideaux."

"Seriously?"

"I'm afraid so. Is okay for me to call her to come down here? While she's on her way, I'll explain why, but getting her here will expedite things."

"Ok, that's fine."

Kurt and Adam moved back to waiting area while Mr. Langston called Madame Tibideaux.

"You can come back in. She's on her way. It will be about 30 minutes. Don't be concerned that she will be upset with you for bothering her. She may seem a bit closed off, but she really does care about her students."

"I know. I just hate to bother her."

"As for why I called her. I can't just make this go away. You know as well as I do that photos on the internet are impossible to remove. I'm honestly not sure where you stand legally on this whole issue. Defamation of character doesn't fit. This just isn't my area of expertise and although it does affect your schoolwork, it's not technically a school- or work-related issue, like a contract which is mostly what I deal with. Back to why Madame Tibideaux is needed - even if we can prosecute him for something related to the false photo and we pursue a restraining order since he violated the cease and desist letter, none of that is going to fix this problem in time for you to be able to come to school Monday and finish out the last three weeks of the semester. Legal processes take time."

"I understand."

"I'm going to have my secretary call my other appointments for this morning and reschedule them. I'll be back in a few minutes. Hopefully, Madame Tibideaux will arrive soon."

About 10 minutes later, Madame Tibideaux walked into the office. "Mr. Langston, Mr. Hummel, Mr. Crawford," she said as she took a seat. "What can I do for you gentlemen this morning?"

Mr. Langston asked Kurt, "Is it alright for me to explain your situation? I need your express permission to share confidential information with Madame Tibideaux. I also need your permission to record this conversation."

"Yes, to both."

The recorded session began. "This is Mr. Langston speaking with Kurt Hummel, Adam Crawford and Madame Carmen Tibideaux." He explained the situation to her. He showed her a copy of the cease and desist letter, the photo of Blaine at the school waiting outside Kurt's classroom and then the three screenshots of the picture of Kurt.

After she had heard everything, she spoke, "I am sorry to hear all of this. I do believe that we can come to a resolution for your school work. As for your personal life, I'm not going to be of any help with that. I will leave Mr. Langston to do whatever he can for you and refer you to others if he is unable to help you. Please end the recording now."

Mr. Langston stopped the recording. "Would you like me to file for a restraining order? It won't help with the current issue, but it may be of future use."

"Yes, please write up whatever you need me to sign."

"Very well."

"Mr. Hummel, while Mr. Langston is working on that, will you and Mr. Crawford please follow me to my office? I will send them back later to sign paperwork and speak with you further, Mr. Langston."

"Yes, Madame Tibideaux. Thank you for coming in so quickly."

"Gentlemen. Follow me, please." Kurt and Adam followed her to her office.

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Once inside, she turned on her computer and pulled up Kurt's file. "You've done well this semester, Mr. Hummel."

"Thank you."

"With the courses you're taking, I think you have a few papers, a few tests and a couple of presentations to complete before the end of the semester."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Given your high school GPA, your grades this semester, your work ethic and your level of commitment, as evidenced by your determination to escape into the streets of NY unrecognized, I'm certain that I can trust you to do the last two weeks of coursework without coming to class."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I know it's not ideal to complete the work on your own, but neither is you trying to sneak around in a costume. That would cause a lot more disruption to my school than allowing you to finish through independent study these last two weeks."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Given the completely unusual nature of your situation, I will have you come in very early next Sunday morning to demonstrate your dance technique to Miss July. There are no extension classes until afternoon. So, the dance room will be unoccupied. Hopefully, you can prepare at home to some extent. She will be made aware of your situation."

"How many vocal presentations do you have?"

"Just the one for your class, which I have already been working on, Madame."

Adam smiled, "It's lovely. I've heard him practicing."

"I'm sure it is. For the sake of ease, I am going to consider your performance at the Winter Showcase in place of the one for my class. You will receive an A."

"Thank you, Madame."

"Your other coursework, the papers and exams will be brought to me by Mr. Crawford. And I, in turn, will give them to the appropriate instructors. I will be counting on your honesty and Mr. Crawford's for you to complete the exams unaided by anything but your own recollection of the materials."

"Thank you, Madame."

"Mr. Crawford, I know this situation puts a lot of stress on you as well. I know you have a few final projects, but no actual exams and you've already completed the performance requirements for this semester."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Graduation is in 3 weeks. You've done a nice job here, Mr. Crawford. What are your plans for after graduation."

"My plan was to go back to England this summer and then return in the fall to start auditioning for roles."

"Good plan."

"Now, gentlemen I will let you make your way back to Mr. Langston's office. Mr. Hummel, be here in the dance studio at 8am next Sunday. I will have a security officer waiting to let you in the building at the side entrance. The building is not usually open that time of day. Miss July will be informed of your test time."

"Yes, Madame Tibideaux. I'm sorry about the trouble I'm causing you."

"Mr. Hummel, did you post a photo of yourself claiming to be lost? Did you intentionally get that photo shared by thousands of people?"

"No, ma'am."

"Then you did not cause this."

"Thank you Madame Tibideaux," Kurt said as he and Adam stood to leave her office.

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Mr. Langston had drawn up the paperwork to file for a restraining order. Kurt signed in all of the appropriate locations. "I will contact you once I have a hearing date. I will speak with a colleague about what your options are for the photograph. I will let you know what I find out. I will not share private details about your case."

"Thank you for all of your help."

Kurt left the building and took a taxi. Adam saw him get in and walked the other direction to take the subway to the next stop. They met and got back on the subway going the other direction going back home. They rode in silence.

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Once they were back in the apartment, Kurt took off his disguise and went to take a quick shower to get all of the make up off.

"Well, that went better and worse than I had expected."

"What do you mean, love?"

"I had hoped there could be something more expedient. But I am thrilled that I won't be flunking all of my finals and papers because of the situation. I'm not sure how I can practice dance here at home, but hopefully Cassie will give me 10-15 minute to warm up and practice a bit before she tests me."

"She may be hard-nosed, but she's not unreasonable." Kurt nodded in agreement.

"I don't think I have ever stayed home for two weeks straight since, well ever. I guess I won't need that desk I thought I'd need. I can just use yours while you're at school and I'm stuck here."

"Hopefully, Mr. Langston's colleague will have some useful ideas."

"Let's hope. Otherwise, I'm going to have to find someplace else to spend the summer. I can't stay here with no place to live and I can't go back to Lima. Maybe DC. Dad knows a lot of people there. Maybe he knows someone who will be out of the city all summer and wants someone to housesit for them or something. I don't know. The only things that come to mind are all either ridiculous or out of my budget or both."

"Well, we have the rest of today and I'm not feeling one bit like doing schoolwork. How about we do that fashion show you mentioned a few days ago and maybe some interpersonal skill building?" he smirked and arched his right eyebrow.

"That could be quite educational, I'm sure." They moved to the bedroom to begin their "work" for the afternoon. Adam modeled all of the clothes he had previously stacked on the box. Kurt gave him scores from 1-10 and cheered for his favorites. After that was done, they spent quite a bit of time on personal exploration and intimate communication, which ended in a delightful nap. After they woke up, they showered and dressed in their pajamas.

"We are going to get quite lazy hanging around in our pajamas all the time if I have to be a recluse for several weeks."

"It will cut down on the laundry though," Adam smiled. "We could just forego any clothes at all and save a lot on laundry."

Kurt threw a pillow at him. "We'd never get anything done. I'd never get a single word written on my papers if you were just walking around in your birthday suit all the time."

"Spoilsport," Adam grabbed him and pulled him close for a big smoochy kiss.

They made their way out to the kitchen and had an early dinner since neither of them had been in the mood to eat lunch when they returned earlier. After eating, they watched _Doctor Who_ and eventually headed to bed, determined to spend the next day working hard on their schoolwork.

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The next morning at 8:00, the buzzer went off. Adam made his way from the bedroom to the intercom box. "May I help you?" he asked sleepily.

"Yes. I want to see Kurt." Kurt moved next to the intercom and turned his camera app on and used the forward facing camera to capture both him Adam in the shot. Adam saw what he was doing and waited until the recording started.

"This is Adam Crawford's apartment."

"I know that. I also know that Kurt is in there."

"Well, you may think he is in here, but I am not coming down to let you in."

The buzzer went off again. Kurt started another video.

"Yes?" Adam answered.

"I want to see Kurt."

"I can understand that, but I am not coming down and to let you in. And if you manage to get someone else to let you into the building and you knock on my door, I will call the police on you for trespassing. This building is for tenants and their guests and you are neither."

The buzzer went off again.

"I've told you to go away."

"I want to see Kurt."

"Were you dropped on your head as a child? No, means no. I am not letting you in. Stop buzzing me." Kurt turned off the recording.

The buzzer went off every five minutes for an hour.

"Do you think the police would come if we called?"

"I want to do something first. Mary's apartment has a view of the front stoop from her balcony. Let me have your phone."

Adam went up to Mary's apartment and knocked. She opened the door. "Good morning, Adam. What's got you up so early?"

"There's an annoying git buzzing me continuously. I need to film him doing it. Mind stepping out on your balcony and pressing this button and recording him for a few minutes?"

"Yes, of course. I heard the buzzing. Come on in." Mary took the phone, stepped out onto her balcony quietly and caught Blaine's incessant buzzing on video. After managing to catch him twice in five minutes, she stepped back in and gave the phone back to Adam silently. Adam shut off the recording.

"Thank you, Mary. I want proof so that he doesn't just say, 'I wasn't ringing the buzzer, officer. I was just waiting around for a friend of mine' or something else equally inane."

"I hope you get him to go away."

"Me too, See you, Mary. Thanks again."

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Adam went back down to his apartment and Kurt let him in. "He's still been buzzing the intercom every five minutes."

"I know. Mary caught him on video twice. With the date and time on the earlier recordings and this, hopefully it will be enough to show that he's harassing you. I'm going to give him one more chance to go away before I call the police."

The buzzer went off again. Kurt started the recording again. "What do you want?" he said as calmly as he could.

"I want to see Kurt."

"Not going to happen. Even if he were here, I would not let you in to see him. You were told to stay away. Are you unable to read the letter you signed for?"

"I read it. I want to see Kurt."

"Listen carefully. Not going to happen. Go away." Kurt left the recording running until the buzzer sounded again, then he turned it off.

"I'm calling the police now."

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Adam went up to Mary's apartment again. He and Mary slipped out onto the balcony awaiting the arrival of the police. As the police approached, Adam began recording again. He managed to get an angle where the camera could record Blaine and the police without them seeing him.

"We received a call of a disturbance. You need to leave this area and not come back. You don't live in this building and have no reason to be here."

"I've come to visit someone and I'm not being a nuisance."

Mary spoke up from the balcony, "Yes, you have been. You've been standing down there for over an hour buzzing someone in this building. I could hear the faint buzzing coming from downstairs and I stepped out to look. I heard the person you're buzzing tell you to go away more than once through the intercom."

The officers looked at him. "Leave this area and don't come back."

Blaine was frustrated. Unfortunately, he did not looked deterred from his goal, but he did walk away.

Adam stopped the recording and slipped back inside before Mary. "Thank you again, Mary. I'll be sure and bring you up some biscuits the next time I bake some."

"Thank you, dear. You know I love your biscuits. I hope that young man stops bothering you."

"Me too."

Kurt let Adam back into the apartment. "Mr. Langston gave us an email contact, right?"

"Yes. I have it here."

"Great. Let's upload these videos, burn them to three CDs and send a copy of the last video to Mr. Langston, the one with the police in it. I'll drop of a copy of the CD with all of the recordings to his office tomorrow. This way he'll know to hold off on filing for that restraining order until he gets the CD." Kurt uploaded everything, burned all the files to CDs and then emailed Mr. Langston.


	3. Chapter 3

"Breakfast. It's definitely time for breakfast," Adam said as Kurt sat down to do the transferring. Adam quickly whipped up some scrambled eggs and toast along with some tea and had it ready by the time Kurt had finished emailing Mr. Langston.

"Thank you. Quite delicious," Kurt said as he finished eating and put his plate in the sink. "Shall we commence the studying?"

"Excellent choice. Shall we assume the cuddle reading position on the couch or in the bed?"

"Well, my preference of course would be the bed, but I fear that I am far too tired and I will take a nap instead of paying attention to my reading."

"If you're really that tired, love, why don't we just actually take a nap and then start studying a bit later since we were awakened prematurely this morning."

"Actually, let's just try reading on the couch. If I do fall asleep, I'll accept the offer of a nap. Maybe I'm more awake than I think. Maybe my problem is less one of being sleepy and more one of being unfocused."

"Alright, then, couch it is." They grabbed their coursework and settled in to read.

About two hours later, Kurt heard the tale tell ring of an incoming email. Mr. Langston had written back. "Adam, do you think that Mary would go down to the legal aid office at school and sign an affidavit saying that she witnessed the harassment?"

"I suppose she might, but she's pretty old. I wonder if Mr. Langston would make an exception and come here. If he can't, I'll just take her in a taxi. Either way, let me run upstairs and ask her if she's willing to sign something."

Adam returned a few minutes later and nodded, "She's willing. I think we'll owe her a nice dinner for her help. I'll make some biscuits too."

Kurt wrote back saying that that Mary would sign the papers and asked whether she had to come into the office in person or if Mr. Langston could bring them over due to Mary's age. Kurt let Adam read the first response about the harassment.

"Well, I think you're set for getting the restraining order easily from what that says. I'll stop by his office first thing Monday morning with the CD so he can get it filed as soon as possible."

The email tone sounded again. "You won't have to go in. He's coming by here this afternoon. He said he was already going to be in this area. He'll be here in two hours. We can give him the CD then and sign whatever he has and he'll file everything tomorrow morning."

"Excellent. I'll go tell Mary. I'm sure she'll want to gussy up a bit for the lawyer's visit. She won't want him to see her in her dressing gown." Adam went back up and informed Mary. He was right; she went on about how she had to go make herself presentable. He just smiled and thanked her again.

Kurt and Adam got dressed as well. They went back to their reading until the buzzer sounded. Adam answered it, "How can I help you?"

"Adam, it's me Harry." Adam recognized his voice, but wondered about the "Harry" part."

"I'll be right down, Harry." Adam went down and found Mr. Langston in a pair of jeans and a henley, carrying a backpack. He let him in.

"I thought I'd try out Kurt's disguise idea. I figured that Blaine might be hanging around still watching the building. I didn't want to tip him off that I'm a lawyer."

"Good idea." Adam gestured toward the stairs, "This way, upstairs. Mary's up one level from us. We can go there first."

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They went up. Mary opened the door and let them in. She was quite the hostess offering them drinks and a snack. They both obliged. Adam just smiled at Mr. Langston. After about 15 minutes, they thanked her for her kindness and excused themselves to finish up their work.

When they entered Adam's apartment, he patted Mr. Langston on the shoulder and said, "Thanks for that. I think Kurt and I are the only ones that have been to see her since I've lived here. She hasn't had proper company in who knows how long. She gussied herself up for you before you got here. Thanks for going along with that. You definitely made her day."

"No problem. I could tell that she really wanted us to stay. I'm not in a big rush and I have a grandma too. I'm not just a heartless lawyer out for blood," he laughed.

Kurt brought the CD over and handed it to Mr. Langston. "Sounds like I missed out on all the fun by staying down here." Mr. Langston put the CD in his backpack.

Mr. Langston smiled. "Mr. Anderson has helped us tremendously this morning. I think it won't take long to get the restraining order now that we have video evidence of him disregarding the cease and desist letter."

"Thanks for taking the time to come over here. It would have definitely delayed things if I had had to take Mary to your office."

"It's not a big deal. Hopefully, this will be go through quickly." Mr. Langston moved to the door. "I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything." And he walked out and left the building.

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Adam and Kurt spent the rest of their day studying as they had planned. By late afternoon, they were both pretty hungry since they skipped lunch again. Kurt went to the kitchen to start dinner. Adam came in and gave him a hug from behind. "I'll be in the bedroom, darling. I told my parents that I'd Skype them tonight. I'll only be about 10 or 15 minutes."

"No problem. I'll still be here cooking," he said as he turned to give Adam a quick kiss.

Adam spent the first 10 minutes of his conversation trying to quickly summarize what had happened over the last week. His parents were shocked. They asked Adam if he was still planning to bring Kurt home with him. He told them that he hadn't had a chance to ask him yet. They told him to get on with it, teasing him. He finished up speaking with them in a slightly better mood.

Adam stood behind Kurt and hugged him again after he reentered the kitchen. "Did you have a good chat with your parents?" Kurt asked him.

"It was quite nice," he said rising up on his toes to peek over Kurt's shoulder. "Ooh, that looks quite tasty and ready to eat."

"That it is. Can you grab a couple of plates?" Adam held out the plates and Kurt scooped the dinner out of the skillet onto the plates, then placed them on the table. "There's a fruit salad in the fridge, if you'll grab it please." They sat down and enjoyed their meal. Adam cleared the dishes and put them in the sink to soak.

"Let's go sit on the couch for a bit."

Kurt followed Adam to the couch.

Adam sat first and grabbed Kurt around the knees and made him tumble into his lap. "Gotcha!"

Kurt laughed.

Adam wiggled and repositioned them until he and Kurt were face to face.

Kurt kissed him.

"I have a question to ask you and I've been waiting for the right time, but things keep staying crazy and I'm not waiting anymore" he paused briefly. "Will you come to Essex with me for the summer?"

Kurt looked stunned.

"My parents just asked me what your answer was and I had the misfortune of having to disappoint them when I told them that I hadn't asked you yet."

"You want me to come to England with you? Oh, my God. I want to go so badly, but Adam, I don't have money for a ticket." He leaned in to snuggle close.

"Sweetheart look at me." Kurt lifted his head. "I will pay for the ticket. I don't advertise my social standing, but I have plenty of money. I don't live in a small apartment because I have to. I live here because I want to. I don't need a lot of frills and bells to be happy, but I have more than the means to buy you a plane ticket. More of an issue is whether you have a passport."

"I do actually have one. My dad got one for me as an 18th birthday present. He said that all adults should have one. So, he got me one. It's that small safe that you saw me pack."

"Well, then you're set. So, will you come with me?"

"Yes, definitely yes."

"Sweetheart, you've made me so happy. My parents will be excited too."

"When are you planning on leaving?"

"Actually, just a few days after graduation. I've already made arrangements with the Super to leave the furniture in the apartment. He can just rent it out as a furnished apartment. I wouldn't make much selling it and I'd rather have everything in here until I leave. I guess I didn't answer. Departure date is May 12th."

"That's really soon."

"Yes. It is."

"I've had an ingenious idea!" he nearly squealed.

"What?"

"A new photo after Mr. Langston files for the restraining order tomorrow. You take a picture of me that looks as close to the original as possible. Maybe I even still have whatever I was wearing the picture. I didn't get rid of anything yet."

"Go on."

"You take a picture of me. On the top we write. 'I am not lost, nor am I his fiancé.' And at the bottom we write. 'I filed for a restraining order against him. Don't help him harass me by texting my location to him.'" Kurt's wheels were spinning. "I'll make a new Facebook page with a made up name. I'll click on the shared button on Facebook and start posting my photo response to any public page that shared the original. Maybe I can at least do something in my defense. Maybe people will spread it around enough that I won't have to worry about the original for that long. Especially, the media picks it up on it somehow. Let's ask Mr. Langston tomorrow, but let's do the photo and the prep tonight so that you can show him what I'm thinking of doing."

"Okay. I'll pull the photo back up. Here it is."

"Yep, I have those clothes. Let me go find them and put them on. I'm standing in front of a brick wall, but the back of the door will have to do. I'm not going out somewhere just to take the picture."

It took Kurt about 30 minutes to find the right outfit and get it on. He looked at the photo and went and styled his hair like it was in the photo.

"Okay. I'm ready. Let's do this." Adam took several photos of Kurt. "Alright, upload those while I go change back."

A half hour later, they had created a photo rebuttal to Blaine's ridiculous claim. Kurt sent the photo to Mr. Langston so that he'd have it when Adam went in to see him tomorrow.

His email chime went off just a few minutes later. "He thinks it's funny, but he says to hold off doing anything. He's going to file for an emergency hearing for the restraining order to get an earlier court date. He didn't realize who my dad was until this afternoon I guess. One of us must have said something about the media picking the story up. He's going to try to press for a quicker hearing so that maybe the order can be in place by the time this spreads to the media."

"Well, if he can get it in place quickly, we can change the bottom part to 'I have a restraining order against him. Don't help him harass me.' I wonder if Mr. Langston could force the phone carrier to disconnect that phone number since it's being used with the sole purpose of harassing you."

"Ooh, that's a great question. I'm going to send that one to Mr. Langston as well."

"He's quite the go-getter," Adam pointed out. Kurt nodded as he sent the new question off.

"So, what will I do with all of my clothes, if we go to England? I won't have anywhere to leave the ones I'm not taking. I don't want to leave them in storage and have to pay for that all summer."

"Well, you could do the unthinkable and really cut back even more. You really can only wear a certain number of clothes in a month. You have a lot more than a month's worth of winter and summer clothes. What about 14 pairs of trousers, 4 pairs of jeans since you wear them less frequently, 4 dressy slacks, 21 long sleeved button up, 21 short sleeved button ups, a few t-shirts that you actually wear, a few jackets, a few sweaters, 8 vests since you wear those frequently and a couple of coats. And some pajamas, of course. Rewearing an outfit isn't a crime." Kurt rolled his eyes. "Plus, if you pick the right things that can be mixed and matched, you'll still rarely wear the exact same outfit."

"You're right of course, and it's not like there are no clothing stores in England should I find myself in need of something specific that I didn't keep. But my shoes. My beloved shoes," Kurt said pleadingly. "It's like giving away my children."

"You overdramatic ninny," he grabbed Kurt and tickled him. "Pick your favorite 6 pairs or something and ship the rest back to Ohio for safe keeping. I know how expensive shoes can be and you've got quite a nice collection. You could ship your heavy winter clothes and your coats back as well."

"You win. I can do this. Spending the summer in England is worth letting more of my clothes go. It's just hard. My clothes have always been my way of expressing myself. I've held onto things that I've only worn once because the one time I wore them, it was a really meaningful statement."

"I have the perfect idea. You pull out these meaningful outfits and get them ready and each evening, I'll photograph you wearing a few of them and by the time we go, you'll have photos that you can use to make a digital scrapbook with and you can write little things on the pages about why the outfit was meaningful. It will give you something to do in your spare time. Because without being able to go to work or school, you are going to get bored pretty quickly."

"Now you are the genius because that's a great idea. But you reminded me of something. I can't work at the garage and not at Vogue either. I need to call the garage tomorrow morning and let the owner know. And I definitely need to talk to Isabelle to see if there are things I can do from home."

"I'm all thought out for tonight, how about we take a nice bubble bath and call it a night?"

"Back to you being a genius," Kurt laughed. "Perfect."

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Kurt and Adam ate breakfast together and Adam set off for NYADA afterwards. He attended all of his classes and kept his focus on what he needed to remember. He only had a couple of weeks left and staying focused was the hardest thing he had to do. Kurt had agreed to go to England and that kept slipping into his mind and tempting him away from the lecture he was supposed to be listening to.

While Adam was struggling to focus, Kurt was at home trying to organize his day. He made a list: call garage, call Dad, call Carole, call Isabelle, call Dr. Mansfield, reorganize clothes, choose outfits, write papers, practice dance, study for his exams. He paused his list making to text Adam to remind him to pick up his exams from Madame Tibideaux. Then he made the first two calls on his list.

He was really sorry to have to disappoint the garage owner, but even he had seen that photo online. He didn't call his whereabouts in, which Kurt appreciated, but he did understand. He even told Kurt to stop back by in the fall to see if he had any openings then.

Isabelle had seen the picture as well. It seemed that everyone had at this point. She said that she would send a courier over with what he needed to complete this week's task. He asked for the courier to come after 4 since Adam would be home by then. He let her know about going to England over the summer. She had not been expecting him to stay in New York, but had hoped he would. But she was really excited for him to get to go to England knowing what a big Anglophile he was. "Be sure to get a selfie with the Doctor if you run into him," she said before she hung up.

Two calls down, three to go. Next was his dad, who was in DC. He updated his dad on what was going on. They only spoke briefly because Kurt didn't have any details yet on the restraining order. He told his dad that he would call back after he had any news from Mr. Langston. Then, he broached the subject of England. Burt was not thrilled with the idea. "You have only been dating that guy for what, three months, and now you're going to go to England with him for the next three months?"

Kurt tried to get Burt to see that Blaine wasn't going to let up. He had already been to NYADA and he had already managed to figure out where Kurt was living. He just needed to get away and a trip to England was the perfect solution. He explained that they would be staying with Adam's parents. That seemed to calm him down a bit. Kurt hadn't told him that he was living with Adam now. He knew that his dad wouldn't approve. But he was nearly 20 years old and he could live with whomever he wanted to and he could go to England if he wanted to. And he _really_ wanted to. He reminded his dad that he would call when he had any news and he hung up.

He called Carole next. He told her the same things that he had told his dad. The only thing he added was the fact that he was going to be shipping a few boxes back to the house in Lima. He asked her to call when they arrived so he could direct her as to what to do with them. He told her he'd call with any news later.

The final call was to the school psychologist. She had also seen the photo. She was quick to agree to phone calls instead of in-person visits for his counseling sessions.

"Write papers" was next on his list. He pulled out the assignment sheet and reread through the requirements carefully. Both required 5 pages. One was an essay, the other was more research based. He had already chosen his topic for both and had made photocopies of what he needed. He had already outlined both and written a first draft of the essay. He figured that if he buckled down that he could get the essay finished and the first draft of the other paper done by the time that Adam got home. He used the kitchen table, laid out his information and got to work. He managed to pull it off and was finishing up the first draft as Adam came in the door. He collected up what he still needed to use and stacked in on his closed laptop. He put the other papers back in a folder in his satchel.

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"Hey, you're back." He got up and hugged and kissed Adam.

"I think I like you being a recluse in my apartment. That's a great greeting to come home to." He squeezed Kurt tighter, then let him go.

"Well, I can't say that I enjoy the recluse life, but it is productive. I finished my essay and have the first draft done on my other paper. Did you pick up my exams?"

"I did. They're in two sealed envelopes in my bag. I'll get them out in a bit. First, let's sit on the couch."

"That sounds ominous."

"Well, I'm not going to drag it out. I'm just going to show you." Adam opened his laptop and pulled up Blaine's Facebook page. There was a photo of an acceptance letter to NYADA with a lot of congratulatory posts underneath, the first being Rachel.

Kurt's face fell. His dream. Every time. Blaine. "No, this can't be happening."

"The letters must have already gone out before he came last week. I don't know if there's anything Madame Tibideaux can do. I don't think schools can rescind acceptance letters."

"It's like the universe is telling me to get out of New York. I have fought an uphill battle all of my life. There is so much that I've never told you that I endured. When will I get to stop fighting so hard? He's just going to waltz in and take everything from me like he did senior year. I'm just really tired. I can't think about this anymore right now."

The buzzer sounded. Adam moved to answer. Kurt said, 'It's probably the Vogue courier, but ask his name before you go down to let him in."

"How can I help you?"

"I have a delivery for Kurt Hummel."

"What are you delivering?"

"Flowers."

"I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong apartment."

Kurt called Isabelle. "Please tell the courier to say that he's delivering a package from Staples to Adam Crawford. Blaine's trying to gain access by either bringing flowers or having them delivered as a confirmation that I am here. Thanks!"

"That problem is solved. If the person doesn't say they have a package for you from Staples, turn whoever it is away."

Fifteen minutes later, the buzzer went off again. "How can I help you?"

"I have a package from Staples for Adam Crawford."

"I'll be right down." He ran down the stairs, grabbed the portfolio and took it back upstairs.

"I'm going to have to text her with something different every time someone is going to drop something off. This is nuts. He just needs to stop."

"Hopefully he will. That's the good news I have. The hearing date is set for Wednesday."

"Oh, wow. That's fast." Adam told Kurt everything he had learned from Mr. Langston that afternoon.

"Okay. So, hopefully that will be taken care of soon. Although I don't believe it will keep him away from me. It just gives me more leverage when he bothers me again. Do you have school work or should we start on the photoshoot?"

"Well, let's see how long each one takes so that we can plan better for the rest of them. Let's start with three tonight." Kurt moved to the bedroom, put on the first memorable outfit, came out, stood in front of the blank wall next to the front door and gave his best model face for the photo. Adam took 2 shots. Kurt changed outfits and they repeated the process two more times. All three outfits took an hour. "Well, there's our answer. About 20 minutes each. Some will be less, a few more, depending on how complicated they are to get on. Let me see them."

Kurt didn't seem pleased with the photos.

"Did I do something wrong, love?"

"No, of course not. Its just that the lighting in here is terrible. I'll have to think of what I can do."

"How about you let me think about that and you just go get more of your outfits planned and stacked up ready to photograph." Adam quickly picked up Kurt's phone and got Isabelle's number from it and put it back. He texted her from his phone indicating who he was first.

He asked Isabelle what it would cost for her to send a single photographer with some lighting equipment and a neutral backdrop to his apartment for the day. She asked him why he wanted to know. He told her what he was trying to do.

She was amazed by his sweetness and offered to send one at no cost. She had a photography intern that was really talented and could use the practice for an offsite shoot. She told him she'd text back in a few minutes, which she did. Everything was set. A girl named Cyndi would arrive at 9:00 Saturday morning and claim she had a delivery for Adam from the art store.

Kurt came back out and asked Adam whether he wanted leftover soup or sandwiches or both for dinner. He was just too exhausted to eat much. They worked to fix a sandwich for each of them as the soup heated. They ate in silence. The pain Blaine was causing Kurt was just killing him too. Why would anyone hurt Kurt this way? He just muddled through his thoughts and finished his food.

"When are you planning to take those exams I brought home?"

"I was thinking maybe Friday? I'm not really sure. I need to go over the review sheets and see how much I've forgotten. Hopefully not much. So, hopefully Friday. I should be able to finish up both papers by Wednesday at the latest. I'm going to attempt to practice my dance moves in here, but I'll do that during the morning Thursday and Friday when people are mostly not home. That way my jumping around won't bother the neighbors."

"I'll work on the lighting issue. Maybe just planning to do it during the daytime on Saturday will solve the problem."

"Maybe. I'll save Saturday for the photos then. You know, you always think you want a long vacation and you finally get one INSIDE an apartment. I'm trying to stay positive, but I'm not good at being cooped up. By the time this is over, I might even be willing to go camping because I'll miss the outdoors so much," Kurt said sarcastically.

"Somehow, I doubt that," Adam smiled.

"Maybe in a camper, with running water and electricity," Kurt teased.

"That's not camping." Adam picked him up and dumped him onto the bed.

"It would be to me."

"Whatever you say, dear." That got Kurt riled up enough that he started tickling Adam and the tickling turned into a pillow fight, which turned out to have a lot more kisses than pillow whacks by the end. Adam and Kurt were both laughing and panting by the end. "There, much better now."

Kurt put the pillows back and curled up into Adam's embrace. "I agree, but aren't you supposed to be putting the finishing touches on some projects? At least that's what I thought Madame Tibideaux said in her office."

Their evening turned back to their work, but with both of them in a decidedly better mood than earlier.

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The next few days were passed much of the same way. Classes for Adam. Writing and studying, and dancing when he could for Kurt. Project work for Adam when he came home. By Friday, they were both going stir crazy. They ended their week with a _Downton Abby_ marathon and homemade pizza.

At least no one tried to deliver anything that they didn't want the rest of the week.

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Saturday morning arrived and Adam was having a hard time controlling himself and hiding his excitement. Finally 9:00 came and the buzzer sounded. "Who is it?"

"I have a delivery from the art store for Adam Crawford."

"I'll be right down." Adam ran down the stairs and helped Cyndi carry up the equipment.

He knocked on the door and Kurt opened it. "Surprise!"

"Cyndi?" he looked shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Taking photos, of course. What else would I do?" she teased.

"Well, come on in. Set your things anywhere. So, now I see why you thought the lighting might be better on Saturday," he nudged Adam.

"Well, I am sure that the lighting that Cyndi has will be awesome. Shall we get started? Do you need me to move any of the furniture?"

She looked around and directed him to move a few things around.

"This looks great. Can you help me stand this backdrop up?"

Adam helped her set up everything while Kurt went to change into his first outfit. They spent the whole morning taking shots. Cyndi pulled in pieces of furniture and little touches into the photos. Adam made lunch and they all stopped and ate.

"This is so much fun. The photoshoots at work can be really stressful because the models have to behave or pose in specified ways. It's been a while since I've done a photoshoot just for fun. I'm glad Isabelle asked me to do this."

"Me too. It's been a really tough couple of weeks and this really makes for a nice break from that."

"Yeah, I've seen your douche ex's 'missing' photo of you. That's just so over the top."

"We should get an answer about the restraining order this next week."

"Let's stop talking about this. And let's get back to the fun. Hey, Adam," she called toward the kitchen where he was washing dishes. "why don't you go pick out two outfits for yourself, one dressy, one casual and I'll take a few of the two of you together after we finish up with all of Kurt's outfits?"

"Oh, that sounds nice. I'll go do that. Kurt can pick out something of his that coordinates when he's done."

Cyndi and Kurt continued with their playful photoshoot for the rest of the afternoon. Adam spent some time working on organizing the dresser and removing things that he wasn't going to take back to England with him. Then he realized that he was wearing a beanie. That just wasn't going to cut it for the dressy photo. He went to the bathroom, washed his hair and styled it with some hair wax.

By the time Adam was dressed in his dressy outfit, Kurt was ready to move on to the couple's shots. Kurt looked at what Adam was wearing and headed over to his rack and picked out a coordinating outfit quickly and changed. Cyndi set up a chair and started arranging the guys in different poses. After she got several that she was pleased with, she sent them off to change.

Kurt and Adam returned looking completely transformed. Adam was back in his beanie and Kurt had restyled his hair similar to the way his had when they had done "Born this Way" back in junior year. They were wearing t-shirts and jeans with boots. Cyndi had a lot of fun with their funky looks and got some great shots.

"Cyndi, I have just one more quick request. Kurt, come with me for a minute." Kurt followed him. Adam handed him a new Adam's Apples hoodie. "My best time a NYADA has been since you joined the Adam's Apples. You were at the top of the heap and you joined us lowlifes and it's been a blast having you with us. Put this on and let's go get one last photo."

After the last shots, they helped Cyndi get everything back into the cases she brought them in. "I don't suppose you need a gym membership after carrying all of this stuff around," Adam teased.

"Well, generally, I have a crew that goes with me. This was different because of the situation. I just need to call for the car service to come pick me up."

The three of them chatted while they waited.

Adam helped her carry everything down to the car. "Thanks for everything. You brought a smile to his face that I haven't seen in way too long."

"You're welcome. He's one of the nicest people I've ever worked with. It was my pleasure. I'll have the DVD of the shots by mid-week. I'll send it by courier. I think Liz from Office Depot, this time." Adam laughed and waved as she drove off.

Adam went back upstairs to find Kurt waiting right inside the door. He jumped on him with a huge hug. "You are the best boyfriend ever. I have always wanted to do a photoshoot, but never had the money to do it. I always thought it would be a ton of fun. And with you and Cyndi, it was awesome." He kissed Adam soundly and hugged him again.

"I'm so glad you enjoyed yourself, love. That was the whole point - to bring the fun to you."

"Let's move the furniture back and box up the pieces of the outfits that are making their way to other's people's closets to bring a smile onto a new face or two or twenty."

Kurt started folding clothes and handing them to Adam to put in a box. "I think we've behaved all week and I'm ready for some Thai takeout. No matter how hard I try, I just cannot get it to taste the way it does from the place down the street. Will you call in our order?"

"Your usual?"

Kurt nodded.

"You got it." He called in the order. "Thirty minutes."

They went back to their task. Just on time, thirty minutes later, the buzzer rang and Adam went to collect their delivery. They ate, finished folding the clothes and then ended their day early because they had to be at NYADA bright and early to face Cassie July's final dance exam.

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The next morning brought the return of the dress, wig and hat. Kurt decided to forgo any makeup because of the exam. He put his dance clothes on under the dress and he and Adam set out for NYADA. The subway and streets were pretty empty given how early they were out on a Sunday morning.

They managed to make it to NYADA undetected as far as they could tell. The security guard was waiting to let them in and followed them to the dance studio. Kurt removed his costume and moved to the barre to start his stretches. It felt good to stretch and loosen up. It wasn't long before Miss July showed up. Adam left the room to wait in the hallway.

"So, Kurt this will be a bit different than the exam would go if you were in class to do it, but I'm going to do the best I can to make this as painless as possible. You've worked hard all semester and proved yourself at every opportunity. This is just to show me that you've learned what I've taught this semester. So, try and relax. I'm not out to make you nervous, but I know that a one-on-one exam like this makes everyone nervous. For the parts that require a partner, I will dance with you. Are you ready?"

Kurt responded, "Yes, Miss July."

Cassie put her iPod in the system and played some classical music in the background for the beginning. When it came time for the partnered dance moves, she switched the music to an upbeat piece. The exam took about an hour to finish.

"Well, Mr. Hummel, I believe you've learned what I've taught. You have a good attitude and take criticism well. That's part of what my class is designed to teach besides the dance moves themselves. I know that everyone thinks I'm mean, but you figured me out from the very beginning. I could tell. Some people arrive here believing that they're ready to be stars. Those are the hardest to teach. You arrived ready to learn. That makes all the difference. It makes you hirable, even if you aren't the best dancer that auditions for a part. When corrections are indicated, you'll make them without complaint, while the entitled princesses will roll their eyes and mostly just keep doing it their way."

Kurt nodded, but said nothing.

"Oh, and by the way, you're getting an A. Good job. I'm also promoting you to the intermediate class for next fall, giving you a pass grade and the credit for the second semester of the beginner class. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Miss July."

"Thank you, Kurt, for being a good student. I hope you get this issue worked out and can go back to your regular life soon." She left the room.

Kurt took a few drinks from his water bottle. He did his cool down stretches and put the dress, wig and hat back on. He and Adam exited back out the side door that locked behind them and headed back home.

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Once they got home, Kurt ditched the costume and jumped in the shower. He came out to find Adam waiting on the bed for him. Kurt went and sat next to him on the bed. "Whatcha thinkin' about so hard there, cowboy?"

Adam just laughed. "Our timeline. You've got the two exams left to take and I have a final meeting with the professor to go over this last draft of my project. I'll have to make whatever corrections he points out and turn it in for a final grade, but once that's done, I'll be finished. I think I'd like to have one more fun get together with the Apples before I go. Perhaps, we can use your costume one last time. Or maybe we could have them all here. Either way, I'd like to see as many of them as possible before I go."

"We'll work on a plan for that then. What else were you thinking about?"

"Well, since being cooped up has forced us to be much more studious, we've both gotten our work done much more quickly and we're going to have more than a week of nothing to do before graduation. I called your dad while you were with Cassie this morning. He said that he'd have no problem arranging for us to stay somewhere in DC. Would you like to go to DC and spend some time with your dad and maybe the rest of your family before we head off to England for the summer?"

"Oh, my God, YES. A thousand times yes. This is an amazing idea. I've never been to DC in all this time that my dad's been a congressman. Let's plan. The Smithsonian. We have to go. Please?"

"Of course. We'll go see whatever you want, love. I've never been to Washington, DC either. It will be an adventure." Adam went to the living room and brought his laptop back to the bed. He and Kurt spent some time just looking through websites and making a list of places they'd like to go.

"This is going to be amazing." Kurt's enthusiasm was contagious.

"You didn't say anything earlier. How did your dance exam go?"

"Miss July complimented me on my ability to follow directions and take criticism well."

"Well, that's high praise indeed."

"I figured as much. She told me that I'm getting an A for this semester and that she's giving me a pass grade for the second semester of the beginner class and promoting me to the Intermediate class for the fall."

"Wow. She must really think you've done well."

"Is that unusual? I don't really know what she means by a 'pass grade.'"

"Oh, it's what students who come in with prior training usually get. Students get a pass grade, which means that there's no letter grade to be used in their GPA, but that the student gets the credits for the class. So, she gave you the credits for the second semester class without you having to take it."

"Oh, wow. Well, that will boost my standing to nearly sophomore in the fall because I took two extra classes this semester in an attempt to catch up and graduate on time despite starting a semester late. So, now, I'll just need to take one extra class each semester next year and I'll be caught up."

"You mean you took 7 courses this semester and worked 2 jobs?"

"Yes?"

"Definitely amazing."

"If you say so."

"Well, I do say so."

They kept up their playful banter and started lunch. "I think it's leftovers day."

"Alright. Let's see what's left in the fridge and from our last shopping trip. Things are pretty bare," Kurt noted looking through the cabinets.

They managed to pull a few things together and ate what they assembled.

"Well our menu wouldn't be found in a five-star restaurant, but I'm not hungry anymore and that's the point of eating."

"I'm going to have to make a run out to do some shopping or we're going to have call to have some groceries delivered."

"Well, price-wise, it's probably pretty even because delivery costs extra, but taking a taxi so that you can bring home enough for the both of us for a week costs extra too."

"So, true. I think just this once, I'll try the delivery option. I'd rather put some more time into my project so I can be certain it's as ready as possible by Tuesday because that's when my consultation is."

"Is there anything specific you need?"

"Dates and a small bag of pecans. I didn't see any in the cabinet. I promised Mary I'd make biscuits for her."

"Alright. You go work on your project and I'll get the groceries ordered. I'm putting it in your name though. Do you have the cash to pay for them? I have some, but probably not enough to cover the whole order. I need to give you my ATM card at some point to pull out some more cash since I can't go out."

"I've got the bill covered, not problem, love." Adam said as he moved to the bedroom to work on his project.

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Two hours later, the buzzer went off. Adam came out to the living room to answer it. "Who is it?"

"Grocery delivery for Adam."

"Be right down." Adam ran down, opened the door and the man emptied his cart in the lobby. Adam paid him, gave him a tip, and saw him out.

Kurt came bounding down the stairs after he heard the front door close. He helped Adam get all the bags upstairs. Kurt put everything away while Adam went back to his project. He spent the rest of his afternoon studying for the exams that were waiting for him. He decided that he'd take one of them that evening and one the next morning because Adam's morning class had been cancelled due to the consultations the professor had schedule for individual students.

"Hey, Adam," Kurt said quietly as he entered the bedroom.

"Yes, love?"

"I think I'd like to go ahead and get those exams over with. Would it be okay with you if I do one this evening after dinner and one tomorrow morning before you go into NYADA?"

"That's fine. The only restriction I was given is that only I could be present while you take the test and that you're not allowed to use your textbooks, notes or ask me questions."

"Thanks. I'm going to go get started on dinner. Does spaghetti sound alright."

"Delicious."

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Kurt chopped, diced, sautéed, browned, simmered and boiled the ingredients. He never cared for jarred sauces much and loved making his own. He went and got Adam once everything was done.

"This really is delicious."

"Thanks. It's my favorite sauce recipe. It was my mom's."

"Well, I definitely approve. We'll have to make this for my parents this summer. I'm sure they'll love it."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of it. We're going to DC, then back here for graduation and then leaving for England. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to attend the ceremony. Maybe I can talk to Madame Tibideaux. Maybe I can sit in the stage wings or something. I don't want to cause any type of disturbance."

"Glinda."

" _Wizard of Oz_ or _Wicked_? You've lost me."

"Glinda is someone I know who graduated last year. I haven't seen her in a while. I'm going to invite her over for dinner Monday."

"Okay."

"I'm going to call her. Hopefully, she's free."

They finished up their dinner and Kurt offered to do the dishes so that Adam could make the call. About 10 minutes later, he returned and started drying the dishes that Kurt had washed. "She'll be here at 5:00," smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"I'll refrain from asking questions because it's clear that you have something up your sleeve."

"I have no sleeves as you can clearly see," he nudged Kurt and then pulled him over to the couch. "I think that 10 minutes of cuddles will definitely improve your exam grade."

Adam got up a little later and retrieved the exam envelopes from his bag. "So, Shakespeare or Music Theory?"

"Music Theory." He reached for the exam, opened the envelope and sat at the table to begin working on it. He knew he had two hours to complete it. He read through the whole exam. Then he started with the parts he was most sure about moving on to the other questions. He had completed all of the questions with 30 minutes to spare. He used the time to double-check his answers for spelling, grammar and neatness. Musical notation had to be exact.

When he finished, Adam returned, collected the exam and put it in his bag.

They went back to their schoolwork, took a nice relaxing bath, and eventually headed to bed.

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The next morning, the two of them made breakfast together. They spent nearly as much time dancing around together as they did cooking, but Adam was doing his best to get Kurt relaxed before Kurt took his last final.

They sat down and ate together, playing footsie under the table and laughing. After they finished, Adam cleared the table and started washing the dishes.

"Breakfast is done and cleared. Are you ready for Shakespeare?" Adam asked as he handed Kurt a cup of tea.

"As ready as I'm going to get." Kurt took the tea and his exam, and he answered everything as completely as he could. He kept an eye on the time so he wouldn't spend too much time on any one question and then run out of time to get them all answered. The two hours passed quickly with so much to be said. Adam came in when his time was up and Kurt handed him the exam, which he put with the other one in his bag.

"I'll drop these by Madame Tibideaux's office first thing."

"Thanks."

"No problem, darling."

Kurt moved from the kitchen table to the couch. "It's been a busy semester and it's done. Two final exams, two papers, the dance performance exam, the vocal solo performance for which Madame Tibideaux substituted my performance at the Winter Showcase, and the play I turned in a month ago."

"Indeed, crazy busy for you. All those classes, two jobs. And now, it's all about the sightseeing and the traveling. Maybe you can finish up going through your clothes and at least get all of the ones you want to sell boxed up and I can take them down to the resale shop. I've been thinking of how to get your stuff there and since Glinda agreed to come over tonight, I'm going to borrow her car briefly and drive the boxes over to the shop."

"Most excellent. I'll be sure to have everything ready then. I don't want to waste the opportunity to use a car to get the boxes there."


	4. Chapter 4

Adam left for NYADA and Kurt set out to get the clothing situation under control. He had such a fun time at the photoshoot on Saturday and he was looking forward to seeing the photos and making the digital scrapbook. He had to unbox everything that he had previously packed to keep.

He really thought about what Adam had said. There really wasn't a need to have as many clothes as he owned. The slight variations in many of them weren't enough for any regular person to even notice. He just needed to focus. He stacked all of the pants on the bed by color. He tried them on so that he could compare them to each other. By the time Adam came home, there were several full boxes and manageable stacks on the bed.

"Kurt?" Adam called out as he entered.

"In here," Kurt called from the bedroom.

Adam followed his voice. "I don't see you. Did a pile of clothes fall on you and trap you?"

"Very funny." He stood up from the floor on the other side of the bed. Adam's view had been impaired by the clothing stacks. "I was just trying some socks on and I didn't want to knock the stacks over by sitting on the bed."

"Well, it looks like you have been busy."

"Very. All of those boxes are ready to go to the resale shop," Kurt pointed at the ones closest to the door. "This small stack here are the ones I need to ship back to Ohio. My heaviest winter cardigans, winter coats, heavier boots and my most unique shoes that I love but only wear occasionally. What's left on the bed is all that's left."

Adam looked impressed. "That's only a quarter of your clothes."

"Yes. I took what you said to heart and really thought about it. I've really moved past the stage of needing to prove something to myself by the way I dress. I want to like the way I look still, of course. But I can style up all of these pieces in a lot of different ways. I kept nearly all of my scarves, ascots and ties. Those items take up practically no space and they completely change the look of an outfit. Of course, I kept my brooches as well, for the same reason."

"Let's move these out near the front door." Kurt moved to help Adam carry the boxes to the living room. "It seems to me that you are going to need some luggage. You only have the one large suitcase. I think you'll need a second, possibly a third. I'll go out tomorrow after class and get a couple and bring them home. If you only need one, I'll return the other or use it myself perhaps."

"Good plan."

"Come sit down. I have news. Well, we have an appointment to get news. Mr. Langston is going to call you in five minutes." Adam moved to rub Kurt's shoulders while they waited.

Kurt's phone range. "Hello. Yes, this is Kurt." Kurt switched the phone to the speaker.

Mr. Langston started with his spiel about recording the conversation. "Well Mr. Hummel, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

"I guess the bad news so I'll have something to look forward to."

"The bad news is that the restraining order petition was rejected." Kurt's face fell and tears started streaming down his face.

Adam spoke up. "Why?"

"The judge ruled that since he had made no threats and had not caused bodily harm that there was no cause for a restraining order."

Adam responded, "That's just wrong. Kurt is in danger because people want to find him. He's at risk for being kidnapped. People know someone wants him bad enough to flood the internet with that 'find me' photo."

"I know that. You know that. But since Kurt has not been injured or received threats of injury, the judge isn't going to change his mind." Mr. Langston said.

"What's the good news?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Well, I spent a lot of time on the phone last week and the phone company agreed to disconnect that phone number this morning. No more texts going to that number will cut down on Blaine's ability to figure out where Kurt is."

"Thank you."

"I'm ending the recording," Mr. Langston indicated.

"Again, thanks for all of your hard work. I really appreciate it."

Just a minute after they hung up, Kurt's phone rang again with no number. He handed it to Adam to answer.

"Hello," he said in his best American accent.

"Kurt? It's Mr. Langston. I called from my personal phone." Adam put the phone back on speaker.

"I wanted to tell you two something off the record. I learned quite a few things over the last week that are not part of the official record. I did not realize that Blaine's father is a high-powered attorney. When Blaine received notice of the restraining order request, his father went into papa bear mode. He showed up in New York, with two assistants in tow and protested the order and since the truth was that Blaine had never actually done anything to physically harm you or threaten you, his dad managed to sway the court. What I found out behind the scenes was that Mr. Anderson was unaware that Blaine had ever been engaged to you and when the restraining order request indicated that the photo flooding the internet was Blaine's doing, he was livid. Mr. Anderson has big plans for his son and they don't include a criminal record over a 'boy'. It seems that Mr. Anderson has taken it upon himself to relieve Blaine of his credit card. It's amazing what you can overhear when you look young enough to be someone's PA. Mr. Anderson's assistants were talking outside on the front steps when I arrived for the hearing."

"Well, that is interesting news. I knew that Mr. Anderson was a lawyer and had a lot of money, but I've never met him. He was never around when I went to Blaine's house."

"That explains why the deliveries stopped and we didn't see him here this weekend," Adam added. "His dad took his credit card so he couldn't buy another plane ticket."

"Since the case is closed and the phone company disconnected that number because of the harassment issue, I think your idea to attempt to flood the internet with an 'I'm fine' photo may have some merit. It doesn't implicate anyone. It's not threatening in any way. And maybe it will help."

"Yeah, I hope so. But I'll be an internet meme forever. Ugh. Again, I really appreciate all of your help and your little eavesdropping information makes me feel a bit better. I would imagine, though, that he will just change his tactics. I still have a lot to think about. He already has his NYADA acceptance letter."

"I wasn't aware of that."

"Yeah, Kurt and I saw it posted to his Facebook page last week."

"I see," Mr. Langston said, then wished Kurt and Adam good luck on their finals and hung up.

Kurt put the phone down and asked Adam to open his Facebook page. Blaine's Facebook page had been set to private, and his Twitter and Instagram pages were gone.

"It seems that Mr. Langston's hearsay is true. It looks like Mr. Anderson stepped in and made Blaine take it all down."

"I'm not sure that attempting to post my rebuttal photo will do any good now. It might just stir the pot again. I'll have to think about it some more," Kurt said.

"Well, I'm going to go start dinner. Glinda will be here in a while."

"Okay. I'm going to go call Dad and Carole."

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Kurt spent 30 minutes on the phone, part of it in heated conversation with a very angry Burt Hummel. He was livid that nothing was done and no restraining order was granted. Kurt couldn't tell him the off record information, but he did tell him that Blaine's Facebook had been set to private and his other social media accounts had been removed.

Burt eventually calmed down a bit once Kurt started talking to Carole about visiting DC next week. She was very excited about the whole trip. They had arranged to stay in a townhouse owned by someone Burt knew who used it for business trips to DC, but who would not be in town next week.

"Well, Dad did not take the news well. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't take up cyber bullying as a campaign issue."

"Not a bad campaign issue to take on. I'm sure there are loads of people who deal with it. Anonymity can bring out the ugly in a lot of people."

Kurt straightened up the living room and set the table while Adam finished up dinner. A few minutes later, the intercom buzzed.

Adam answered, "Who is it?"

"It's Glinda."

Adam ran down to let her in. "I had to park two blocks away. Sorry I couldn't get any closer."

"I'm sure it will be fine. Thanks for letting us use your car. Let's go transform Kurt. He doesn't know why you've come, other than that I wanted to see an old friend. You're going to make him so happy."

"I aim to please."

Adam let her into the apartment. Introductions were made and Glinda put her stuff down in the living room. Adam carried a chair from the kitchen into the living room and asked Kurt to stand against the blank wall and she took his photo.

"What's going on?"

"It's a surprise makeover. I know how much you love those shows. You get to be the participant this evening."

"What?"

"Just have a seat."

In less than 30 minutes, Glinda had transformed Kurt into a beautiful woman, complete with a lovely chestnut-colored, long bobbed-cut wig with bangs. "Stand up and follow me." She grabbed a garment bag and led Kurt to the bathroom.

When he looked in the mirror he was shocked. He did not look one bit like himself, except his pale skin color.

"Here put this on and come out to the living room once you're dressed." Glinda went back to the living room and Adam helped her pack her tools of the trade back up.

Five minutes later, Kurt entered the room.

"Wow. Perfect. You did an amazing job, Glinda. It's a complete transformation."

"Stand back against the wall for my after shot." Kurt moved and stood where the first picture had been taken. They all looked at the before and after shots. No one would know that those pictures are of the same person.

"I like the punk, Soho vibe of this dress. It's long enough to not show my hairy legs and it looks great with my Docs. So, I can actually move around easily in it." "Okay, let's get these boxes downstairs and into Glinda's car."

"Aren't we eating dinner?"

"Yes, but not here. We're going out."

"But you've been cooking."

"It's for tomorrow. It's just soup and it's already in the fridge. The heat hasn't been on since Glinda started your makeover."

"You're a tricky one, Mr. Crawford," he laughed.

The three of them moved all of the boxes downstairs. Glinda and Adam went to move the car in front of the building while Kurt waited inside with the boxes. Once Glinda pulled up, Adam jumped out and he grabbed each box as Kurt handed it out the door. When there was just one left, Kurt carried it to the car and got in the front seat.

"We're going to the resale shop first, since it will take them time to sort through all of this stuff. While we haul this stuff in, I want you to go find a dress to wear to my graduation. Something that will still go with the Docs, but a little more dressy. That dress you have on is Glinda's. She'll want it back later."

"Got it. Find a fancy, but not too fancy dress. This will definitely be an adventure. I've never dress shopped for myself," he laughed.

It didn't take too long and Kurt had three viable options in his hand and he moved to the dressing room to try them on. Glinda and Adam had finished the sign in process and were waiting to see his options.

After trying on all three, one was the clear winner. Glinda grabbed it and took it up to put on hold while Kurt redressed. They left and went to a nearby restaurant and had dinner while they waited for a call from the resale shop that they could come back.

They all really enjoyed their dinner, especially Kurt. Everyone treated him like there was nothing unusual about the way he looked and he had finally gotten out of the apartment after being cooped up for so long.

The store bought about 75% of the items that Kurt brought in and he made a decent amount of money on the transaction. They took the unwanted items and Kurt's new dress back to the car. On the drive back to Adam's, Glinda told Kurt that she's be over the morning of Adam's graduation to transform him back into a lady fit to attend the ceremony in complete anonymity.

Kurt and Adam thanked her and pulled the remaining boxes back out of her car when they got back to the apartment. Adam opened the door and Kurt held it open while Adam moved the boxes back inside. Kurt learned quickly that a mid-calf, full skirt was not a good article of clothing to wear while trying to carry boxes up stairs.

When they got back inside, Kurt showered and put his pajama pants on. "Oh, I still have Glinda's dress," Kurt said as he came into the bedroom.

"She has others, I'm sure. You can just give it back when she comes to fix you up for my graduation."

"This has been a really fun evening. We accomplished a lot getting all of those clothes there in one haul. It would have been a lot harder with a taxi. Plus, getting to go out was so much fun. Thanks for doing this for me. You spoil me." Kurt snuggled in close to Adam.

"Well, 'spoiling you', as you call it, is a lot of fun." Adam pulled Kurt in tight. "Let's get some sleep. I have my final consultation on my last project tomorrow morning. I'm just hoping that there aren't a lot of things that need changed. I'm ready to move on and start packing for DC."

"Me too."

"Obviously I didn't make it anywhere to get any more suitcases this afternoon, but I will definitely bring some home tomorrow. I know you don't have any school work left to do. Maybe you can download a new book for your Kindle and do some fun reading. I know you've talked about how much you used to love to read and I know you haven't had any free time in ages. Or you could start on the digital scrapbook of your outfits."

"Isabelle may end up sending something over for me to do as well. We'll just have to see."

Kurt's eyes were drooping. Adam got up, turned off the lights and covered them up.

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Kurt and Adam finished up breakfast and Adam headed out to his consultation. A few hours later, Kurt got a text asking him "red or orange". He had no idea what he was being asked about and said "orange". A little later, he got another text that said "blue or red". He answered "blue". And again a third text asked "brown or white" and he answered "white". He wondered what in the world Adam was up to.

He did what Adam suggested and downloaded a new book to read. He hadn't even realized that the sixth book had been released in a series that he liked. He lost track of time reading and realized that it was already 2:00 when he looked up because he heard Adam coming in.

Adam had two large suitcases, which were not red, orange, blue, brown or white. They were both just black. Adam put them on their sides and opened them up. Inside were bags. Adam pulled them out and emptied them onto the kitchen table. A bundle of orange flowers, blueberries and a carton of vanilla ice cream were amongst the contents.

"Very cute. I love the tulips. And vanilla ice cream sounds good. What are the blueberries for?"

"Well, this afternoon, I'm catching up on my baking. I'm going to make those biscuits that I owe Mary for helping us out. And I'm making an angel food cake. That's what the blueberries are for – the topping for the cake.

"I haven't eaten lunch yet. I'm going to warm up some of that soup from last night. Do you want some?"

"Definitely." Adam moved around the kitchen and got everything put away, then went back out to the living room and moved the suitcases to the bed.

They ate the soup. Afterwards, they went in the bedroom to see what they could get done in there. "How did your meeting go this morning?"

"Quite well. There are actually only a handful of parts that I need to work on and then I can turn it in. I can do it rather quickly."

"That's great. Congratulations!" Kurt kissed him.

Adam caught Kurt and wrapped his arms around his waist. "It's a weight off my shoulders. That's for sure. I was concerned that I'd have a lot of things the professor would want me to redo and I'd spend the next two days pulling my hair out, but I'll be done in no time."

"That's great." Kurt kissed him again and pulled free to get back to what they were working on.

Since there were laundry facilities inside the building, Kurt had been able to get all of their clothes washed without Adam having to do it. Kurt had pulled out everything he wanted to take to DC and had it ready on the bed. He pulled his suitcase out of the closet and managed to fit everything for the trip inside.

Adam started gathering what he wanted to take while Kurt was putting his stuff in his suitcase. "Do you think you'll be able to get the rest of your clothes into one of the new suitcases I bought or do you think you'll need both?"

"Well, honestly, I think I'm going to need both. Shoes take up a lot of room."

"Okay, no problem then. I need to take those boxes and have them shipped to your house in Lima today anyway. I'll stop by the place I got these and buy one more suitcase and bring it back with me. Hopefully, I won't be gone too long." Adam headed out.

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Kurt went ahead and opened both of the suitcases and started to pack up the rest of his clothes and shoes. He left out a couple of things to wear for the next few days. He surprised himself and got everything in. He was shocked to see how much he had let go of, but it kind of felt like a relief. He'd be able to manage the luggage he had on his own through the airport. He had the mobility to go wherever he wanted and not be tied down. It was both a little scary and completely freeing. Kurt moved the two boxes of clothes that the shop hadn't taken into the living room next to the door before Adam came back. He also gathered up the dirty laundry they did have and ran down to wash it. Kurt had grabbed the clothes out of the dryer and was on his way up the stairs and ran into Adam as he was getting back.

"Do you know of any other resale shops, maybe one that's less high end than the one we went to the first time. One that's within walking distance?"

"Yeah, there's one a few blocks over. Why?" They went inside the apartment.

"We had kind of forgotten about the two boxes of clothes the first place didn't take with all of the other boxes sitting around. I moved them in here while you were gone. Do you think you could carry both of them over to the shop?"

"Honestly, I think they're too heavy, but I have a solution. Mary keeps a wagon in the basement, even though she doesn't use it herself anymore. She has a lady that comes to do her shopping for her now who takes the wagon out each week. Let me go see if I can use it." Adam ran upstairs and came right back down. "I'll go bring the wagon up while you bring the boxes down."

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Kurt moved the third new suitcase to the bedroom and folded up the clothes that he had in the basket.

Adam came back an hour later empty handed. "Excellent. I see you haven't brought anything back this time."

"And I see that all my clothes are clean and folded. Thanks, love." He hugged Kurt and gave him a swift kiss.

Adam and Kurt packed all everything that Adam wanted to take on their trip to DC in his old suitcase. They moved the suitcases bound for DC to the living room. Kurt found another box and started to open it.

"Oh, those are just the things I decided not to take back to England. You can just close that back and put it by the front door. I'll deal with it later."

In no time, their closet was empty, the dresser was empty and there were no clothes on Kurt's rack.

"You know, why don't we fold this down and you can take it with you to NYADA tomorrow. The costuming department is always using these to move things around for shows. I don't need it anymore and there's no reason to leave it in the apartment when it could be used at school."

They folded it down and moved it next to the door as well.

"It's really happening. It finally feels real. No more boxes, and pretty much everything is packed. Is there anything from the kitchen you wanted to take back to England?"

"Not that I can think of, but I'll be sure to check. How about we get baking?"

They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the kitchen enjoying themselves and whipping up tasty treats. After the biscuits had cooled he put some on a plate. Adam plated a slice of cake and added some blueberries. Kurt grabbed a few of the tulips and they went up to Mary's to deliver them. She was just delighted and the boys spent an hour with her telling her all about their upcoming adventures.

When they came back down, Kurt said, "Leave the kitchen. I'll take care of it tomorrow. Let's just go have a bath and go to bed."

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Kurt woke up the next morning to an empty bed and he couldn't find Adam. The boxes and clothing rack were gone. He ate a slice of angel food cake for breakfast. He washed and dried all of the dishes and put them all away. He spent a little time straightening all of the plates in the cabinet and pulled all of the remaining food out and put it on the counter.

He moved to the living room collecting up anything that was out of place. He did the same with the bedroom and bathroom. He pulled all of the items out of the mirrored cabinet and under the sink and put them up on the counter.

He washed the odds and ends he had found. He sorted through everything in the bathroom that was his, then he dusted and vacuumed.

He also had another one of his counseling sessions over the phone.

By the time Adam got back, the apartment was completely clean. Adam finished sorting out his own bathroom items, while Kurt arranged the remaining food into meal groups in the kitchen. "Don't forget to look through the cabinets to see if there's anything you want to take."

Adam found his NYADA mug and a Statue of Liberty bottle opener. "I think I'll take these along."

The only thing that hadn't been packed up were the DVDs. "What are you going to do with these? You're not going to leave them behind are you?"

"Well, if I take them, I'll only be able to watch them on my laptop. I guess I could see if there's room to put the DVD player in the suitcase as well." Kurt had forgotten about the Region codes on the DVDs not allowing them to be viewed on British DVD players. "You know, I'm could just leave the DVDs and the player with someone. I can get them back when I come back. A small box isn't much to ask someone to keep while I'm gone. He packed the DVDs and the player in the smallest box he could find. "I think Mary could just put this in her closet for me."

He came back with an empty box. "Done. She didn't actually have a DVD player, just an old VHS machine. I hooked it up and showed her how to use it. By the time I come back, she'll be a _Doctor Who_ and _Downton Abby_ fangirl," said Adam laughing.

Now that the apartment was so empty, Kurt remembered the posters. "You want to keep those don't you?" pointing to the posters around the apartment.

Adam nodded.

"Help me carry all these empty boxes downstairs. I'll carry them around to the back and put them out near the dumpster. Someone will come by and grab them up pretty quick since they're in good shape."

When Adam came back from the dumpster, he said, "I'm going to run down to the office supply store an buy a tube to roll the posters up in. Can you think of anything else that we need?"

Kurt shook his head.

Adam left and Kurt carefully removed the posters from the wall.

When he came back, they got them neatly rolled into the tube and in Adam's suitcase.

"Well, I think we've officially finished packing everything we can. Tomorrow morning, we'll finish our carry-ons."

The buzzer startled both of them. "Who is it?"

"Rachel."

"What can I do for you Rachel?"

"I'd like to see Kurt."

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you with that."

"Look, no one has seen him in ages. If you do know where he is, please tell him that I was asking about him."

"I'll do that, Rachel."

"I wonder what she wanted." Kurt pondered. "It doesn't matter. I don't want to listen to what she says. Maybe someday, if she ever changes."

"Let's have dinner. I think after that our only options are reading and sleeping."

"I can think of a few others," Kurt smiled coyly and swaggered off to the kitchen to start dinner.

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Adam got up before Kurt and made breakfast. He carried their plates to the bedroom. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead." Kurt sat up and took his plate. Adam sat his on the side table and went back for their tea. "So, today's the day," Kurt said. "We're set to leave in a couple of hours. Are there any last minute things that you need to do?"

"Not a thing, but I have already set up for a taxi to take us to the airport. It probably won't save us any time, but it will be much easier than taking the luggage on the subway."

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Two hours later, they were on their way to the airport. The check-in went quickly, but then they had time to kill. It was the first time that Kurt had been out in public in ages. He got a lot of people stopping to stare at him. Adam just stuck close by. Security was a nightmare. The security guard pulled him out of the line and into a room. It took a bit, but Kurt finally convinced him that that internet photo was the outcome of a bad breakup. He made it out to where Adam was waiting.

"Are you okay, love?" Kurt nodded and just took Adam's hand to move to the concourse area.

"Let's just try to avoid any people for right now. I always thought I wanted to be famous. Right this minute, I'm not so sure." Kurt and Adam sat in an area as far away from everyone as they could until it was time to board. The flight went smoothly and Burt and Carole were waiting for them when they arrived.

"Dad, Carole, this is Adam." Adam reached out to shake hands with Burt.

Carole pulled him into a hug. "It's so nice to finally meet you. You're the one that's been keeping Kurt safe in New York aren't you?" she asked.

He stepped back and nodded.

"Thank you. More than we can say."

Burt added, "Yeah. I know I gave Kurt a hard time at first, but there were things I didn't know about and now that I do, I'm just really glad that you were there for him."

They made their way out to the town car that Burt had rented. During the drive, they talked about school, courses, and Adam's upcoming graduation.

"Given the reaction in the airport today, I'm really glad that Adam has such a great plan for graduation." Kurt pulled out his phone and showed them the photo of him after his transformation. "I'll be going looking like that, but in a black dress. I know it's odd, but I really want to be there and I just can't go out easily still. Tons of people were just staring at me in the airport."

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the townhouse. "This is fantastic," Adam said. "It's right near everything. Thanks for having us here. I've really been looking forward to this week. I've never been to DC before. Kurt and I have been looking through all the things to do here. It's going to be so much fun." Kurt and Adam carried their luggage inside.

Carole pointed up the stairs and said, "The door near the bathroom leads to your bedroom." Dinner will be ready in an hour.

Dinner went smoothly and the four of them discussed the different places that Kurt and Adam had decided on. Kurt grabbed his notebook and started creating a plan for the week. Everyone contributed and they managed to fit everyone's ideas in. Burt had meetings some of the time, but they fit him into their activities when he was free.

"I think we're all set then. This is really going to be so much fun."

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The four of them spent the week seeing everything they set out to. They got to know each other better and had split up several times allowing Burt and Adam and Carole and Adam time to get to know each other separately. On their last evening, Kurt left their bedroom to go spend a little more time with his parents before they left. He made it to the top of the stairs and he could hear them talking.

"I like him a lot more than I thought I would," Burt said.

"He's really lovely Burt. There's nothing to dislike about him."

Burt countered with "He's taking my kid to England. Of course, there's something to dislike about him."

"Burt Hummel. Think about what Kurt's been through. Do you really think there's a chance he would be able to do anything besides stay holed up like he has the last few weeks in New York if he went back to Lima? He might be able to sneak out in New York occasionally in drag. Is that what you want for him for the next few months until there's some new big internet sensation?"

"You're right, you're right, of course. But I don't have to like it."

"Now, knock it off. He's nearly 20 years old and he deserves a life. All that crap he went through in Lima in high school and then his first year in college ends like this? He made straight As taking two extra classes and working two jobs. He doesn't ask us for a penny for his living expenses. Let him go have fun this summer with your blessing."

"I know. I just love him and I hate that he has to run off to somewhere so far from us."

"Him being far away will not prevent you from talking to him. You just have to get better at technology," she teased.

"Okay. You win. I'll learn the technology and I'll give him my blessing. He's a good kid and Adam seems like an upright guy. It's been so different spending time with him over you know who."

"Yes, Adam is very genuine and you can see in his eyes how much he really loves Kurt. I think he's great. Blaine was a suck up. Adam speaks his mind, defends his beliefs, but is kind. You can see that Kurt feels completely comfortable with him and I honestly can't say that I ever saw him that comfortable with Blaine," Carole pointed out.

"He seems comfortable in his own skin now. Something he never was in Lima. He told me he doesn't need the Ambien to sleep and the counselor he talked with really helped him work through a lot of issues and he's off the Xanax as well."

"Adam's good for him and you know it," Carole nudged Burt.

"I know. It's just hard to realize he's not a kid anymore. Let's go to bed."

Kurt made his way back down the hall quietly and went back to bed. He curled up next to Adam and fell asleep easily.

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They had said their goodbyes, full of hugs and tears at the townhouse. Burt pulled Kurt aside and told him how proud of him he was and that he genuinely liked Adam.

Burt and Carole waved as Burt, yelled "Enjoy England!" as they pulled away in the taxi.

Going through the airport in New York was just like it had been the week before. Too many stares. They took a taxi back to the apartment. They emptied their suitcases and sorted all of the laundry.

"Dinner or laundry?"

Adam laughed and left Kurt in the bedroom with the laundry. Kurt took the baskets down to the laundry room and got the loads started and went back upstairs. Kurt walked up behind Adam and turned him around. He pulled him to a hug. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being you." And he kissed him.

"Anytime," Adam answered and resumed the kissing.

Dinner, dishes and the laundry were done. The suitcases were repacked. Showers and sleeping were the only things left on the agenda.

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The next morning, Glinda arrived and transformed Kurt into Grace, Adam's cousin. Glinda and Grace attended Adam's graduation together and took photos of the ceremony to share with Adam's family. Grace had unfortunately lost her voice and couldn't speak. No one was the wiser.

Before the ceremony started, Kurt slipped the key to Adam's apartment to one of the Apples. She and the others that weren't graduating went and set up a surprise party for Adam. When they got back to the apartment after the ceremony, Adam was quite surprised and thrilled.

He gave Kurt a big hug. "Thank you, love. You knew how much I wanted to see all of them before I left." They all enjoyed themselves talking and singing for several hours. Everyone had left and the apartment was clean before dinner time.

Kurt and Adam finished their packing after the party and enjoyed their last evening in the apartment before taking off for England on an overnight flight.

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Henry and Elaine Crawford were waiting for them when they arrived the next morning. Introductions were made, hugs and handshakes given. The trip to Adam's house took quite a while. They discussed most of the same things they had discussed with Burt and Carole.

Kurt was shocked to see that Adam's family lived on an estate. He had a whole wing of the manor to himself. The butler took all of their suitcases up to Adam's room. He tried to keep the gawking to a minimum, but was failing.

They were exhausted from the long flight and opted for a shower and a nap before joining Adam's parents for dinner.

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Kurt awoke with a start to find Adam sitting next to him in the bed, gently rubbing his hand along Kurt's arm. He had a washcloth in the other hand.

"Adam?"

"Yes, love."

"It's light outside. Did I sleep through dinner?"

"Dinner?"

"Why are you sitting like that? What's with the washcloth?" Kurt looked around the room. He laid his head back down and closed his eyes.

Adam thought he had fallen back asleep and didn't bother to answer him, but a few minutes later, he sat straight up in the bed. "We're in England, in Essex. This is your room."

"Yes, love. We're in my room in Essex. Are you feeling better?"

"Better? Actually, I feel awful." He lay back down and closed his eyes for a few minutes.

That was the most coherent answer Adam had gotten out of him in over two days. "Kurt, love, can you take a drink?" Adam offered him a drink of tea. He slipped the straw into Kurt's mouth and Kurt took a sip. "That's good. We need to get some liquid into you or I'm going to have to take you to the hospital. The doctor has already been here."

"Hospital?"

"Yes, love. We lay down to take a nap after we arrived and you woke up saying the craziest things. I took your temperature and you were burning up. I rang for the doctor to come and he examined you. You have strep throat. You were too sick to take the pills, so he gave you a shot. You've had a high fever, even with getting a bit of liquid paracetamol in you."

"I've been sick?"

"Yes, darling. Quite sick. And saying the strangest things occasionally. Something about a staircase and roses and a ring. And you've been crying a lot. I thought maybe because your throat hurts so badly. You've apologized for I'm not sure what a million times over, followed by lots of 'I love you's'. I'm glad you're finally making a little sense now. I've been quite worried with all of the strange things you've been saying."

"And we're in Essex?"

"Yes. It's Thursday morning now. We arrived Monday in the late afternoon. You've been sick since then."

"I've had the most awful dream, I think. But it ended with us being in Essex, which wasn't the awful part. I'm so confused. Can you help me to the bathroom?"

"Sure, love." Adam helped him to his feet and to the adjoining bathroom. "Do you need help?"

"I think so."

Adam helped him as he had the other times he had gotten up. "You seem to be on the mend now."

He and Adam walked slowly back to the bed.

"I don't know. I can't sort out what I was dreaming and what is real. Maybe I need to sleep some more, but I really don't want to dream anymore. Maybe I can sit propped up for a bit and clear my head."

"I can help with that." Adam added a pillow and helped Kurt get comfortable.

"Tell me about us. Help me sort out this mess in my head."

"Why don't you tell me what you were dreaming? That will help me figure out where to start."

Kurt recounted the entirety of what he had been dreaming for the last two days. Adam sat patiently listening to all of the crazy details. It was the most complicated, detailed dream he had ever heard anyone tell.

When Kurt had finished, Adam offered him more tea, which he was able to drink without the straw.

"Well, that was one doozy of a dream. No wonder you were crying so much and kept apologizing. I kept trying to reassure you, but it was hard to watch you be so upset and not be able to do anything about it. Then, you'd seemingly fall back asleep in a non-dreaming state for a while and it would start again with you being agitated or upset."

"I'm sorry."

"There's no need to be sorry, love. People get sick. They run fevers, and fevers make people have weird dreams and even hallucinate sometimes."

"I know, but I feel bad that you've had to take care of me for the first two days we've been here."

Adam took the washcloth and wipes Kurt's forehead. "I love you and I will take care of you when you're sick. You would do the same for me, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, of course." Kurt laid his head back and closed his eyes.

"So, your doozy of a dream, let's see where do I start. It was definitely a mix of reality and well, craziness. To start, we've been dating since January. You did not go to your teacher's wedding. Rachel and Santana nagged you, but you held firm and told them that you couldn't afford to miss classes four weeks into the semester and that you were saving up to spend the whole week of spring break in Lima with your family."

"Okay."

"It seems like most of your dream went awry around spring break. By the time spring break rolled around, we had been serious for quite some time and I went back with you to Lima to meet your family. Your dad was a bit scary at first, but he was a sweetheart once he got to know me."

Kurt laughed.

"And Carole's a doll. She's funny and kind, and she loves you and your dad. Once Finn spent a little time with me, he warmed up quite a bit, even though my accent still seemed to confuse him when we left. Let's see, after spring break, you and all of your Lima pals had a falling out. Santana got the understudy roll for Fanny and Rachel flipped out. You sold the furniture that was yours and moved in with me, even though you kept paying your share of the rent on the loft. Santana moved out. Somehow Rachel's dads manage to end your lease early because Rachel hated living alone in Bushwick. She moved into a small place near the theater, which made getting to _Funny Girl_ rehearsals easier. So, that helped you financially since you didn't have to pay the rent anymore."

"What about Blaine?"

"He got into NYADA. He'll be there in the fall. He's moving in with Rachel as soon as he graduates."

"Well, that part of the dream was accurate - him being at NYADA." Kurt was struggling to stay awake.

"Here, take another sip of tea, swallow the whole dose of paracetamol, and lie down. Go back to sleep. The medicine should bring your temperature down to normal now that your fever broke. I'll be here when you wake up again."

Kurt took a few sips, swallowed the medicine, and lay down. Adam covered him up. He went around to the other side of the bed and propped against the headboard and read a book on Kurt's Kindle.

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A few hours later, Kurt awoke again. "Adam?"

"Yes, love. I'm right here."

Kurt turned over. "Oh, God that was the worst dream. Thank you for taking care of me. I'm feeling much better now."

"I'm so glad." Adam put the Kindle down on the night stand.

"I remember everything now. The dream and reality aren't mixed together anymore."

"Even better. So, you remember everything?" Adam raised his arm and offered to let Kurt rest his head on his chest.

Kurt scooted over and let Adam wrap is arm around him. "Yes, I think so. A lot of stuff in the dream paralleled things that actually happened. I moved in with you. I sorted my clothes, keeping only my favorites. But instead of that crazy Lima proposal at Dalton during spring break ending with me getting engaged to Blaine, you came with me and his attempt to win me back ended with him returning the ring after I said that I wouldn't agree to start dating him again. Sam told me about the ring and the proposal. My fever addled brain brought his description of what Blaine had planned into a very realistic dream."

"At least, even in the dream, your mind brought you back to me." Adam kissed the top of Kurt's head.

"We spent a lot of time at home over spring break. My parents loved you. My dad's cancer is in remission. But after I realized that Lima was never going to remove its claws from my life in the form of Blaine following me to NYADA, I applied to schools in London to study music. I did move in with you and I quit the diner. The photoshoot was a blast. We both finished the semester. Miss July gave me credit for the second semester of dance. I made all As in my classes. You graduated. We spent the week before we came here in DC with my dad and Carole. All of the stuff in my dream about what we did in DC was accurate. We're moving to London at the end of the summer and we're going to live in a flat that your family owns. You're going to start auditioning for roles on the West End or local productions, just to get started, and I'm going to go to school in London instead of New York."

"Exactly. I definitely like the real version better than your crazy dream version. It would have been seriously disorienting to have lived through that."

"It was disorienting and it only lasted for two days."

"And your sure about wanting to stay here and not go back to New York, right?"

"New York was my dream for a long time, but that's in the past now. I'm not going to let other people be the guest stars in my own life story. You've never made me feel that way, ever. You built me up when I had hit rock bottom. I had lost so much of myself, I couldn't even accept a simple compliment. You helped me see myself again, the real me, not the one I had become so that other people could shine. I'm so excited that I'm here with you. I do have one question. Do you have a friend named Glinda?"

"No, love. But I was playing your _Wicked_ soundtrack earlier this morning. I know how much you love that musical and I thought it might make you feel better to hear it."

"I must have incorporated part of what I was hearing into the story. Glinda giving me a makeover." Kurt shook his head and laughed.

"I'm so glad you're better. Seeing you so upset and sick was breaking my heart."

"Well, I appreciate you taking care of me. How are you not sick? Strep throat is really contagious and we spent a lot of time kissing in the shower when my parents had that event to go to before we left a few days ago." Kurt smiled thinking about it.

"The doctor gave me antibiotics. I started taking them right away. So, yes, you did infect me, but I got medicine soon enough that I didn't get as sick as you did."

"Well, I'm glad about that. I wouldn't want anyone to be as sick as I have been. I must have gotten it somehow when we were in DC."

"Probably at one of the museums. Do you think you could eat something? I haven't managed to get any food into you the past two days."

"Sure. Applesauce, pudding, a popsicle, maybe scrambled eggs?"

"I have a banana. How about that for now? The next time you fall asleep, I'll go make you some eggs."

"Sure."

Adam let go of Kurt so he could roll over and sit up. He grabbed the banana, peeled the skin back, and handed it to Kurt. Kurt finished it off quickly, lay back again, and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before he was asleep.

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Epilogue:

Kurt and Adam had a splendid summer in Essex and their love blossomed. Henry and Elaine grew close with Kurt and they all enjoyed each other's company. They were happy that Adam had a true companion, not someone who was trying to move up the social ladder by dating him.

There were trips to the countryside, the beach, London, and historical sites. Kurt loved it, and Adam loved seeing everything through Kurt's fascinated eyes. By the end of the summer, Kurt was full of joy and was completely at peace with his decision to stay in England.

One beautiful evening, late in the summer, Adam and Kurt were out walking the grounds of the estate and admiring the flowers in bloom. They stopped to look at some blooms more closely and Adam turned to Kurt, pulled out a ring and proposed. Kurt accepted immediately. Adam put the ring on Kurt's finger and pulled out another box with a matching ring and handed it to Kurt to put on him.

After much discussion, a date in December was chosen. Burt and Carole flew in for the wedding and stayed at the Crawford estate for a week before the ceremony. They were quite pleased to find that Elaine and Henry were truly lovely people. The ceremony was held on the estate with just the six of them in attendance. They honeymooned in Paris.

Kurt had finally found the joy and contentment that had eluded him for so long. Not that life was perfect, because there is no such thing as a perfect life, but their lives were filled with love.


End file.
